Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DEPARTMENTS
No Holds Barred
Publisher
Executive Editor
Muscle Media 2000, Inc.
Bill Phillips
A letter from the editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Letters
Editor-In-Chief
Associate Editor
T.C. Luoma
Susan Daniel Readers speak out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Art Director Craig Korn News & Tidbits
Graphic Production Fred Lord
Chris Monck
22
The latest goings on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rant
Contributing Editors Anthony Almada,
Dr. José Antonio, Size isn’t everything, or is it?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By Dan Duchaine
110
Dan Duchaine,
Blast from the Past
Keith Klein, Bruce Kneller,
Michael Mooney, Shawn Phillips,
Charles Poliquin, Bill Starr
Training intensity—learn & practice this vital skill. . .
By Bill Phillips
138
MM2K Champions
Celestial Editor
Contributing
Dr. Michael Dullnig
Jim Amentler, Alex Ardenti,
Three Muscle Media 2000 readers who are winners. . . 160
Photographers Kevin Carasco, Irvin Gelb,
Brian Leatart, Mitsuru Okabe,
Rick Schaff, Art Zeller
Cover Photograph Jim Amentler
Contributing Illustrators
Newsstand Consultant
Distributor
Karla Burds
Mike Gerardo
ICD/Hearst
12
Advertising Mike Sitzman
303-384-0080
Fax: 303-384-0088
409 Corporate Circle Dr.
Golden, CO 80401
Babes!
SEX!
SEX!
SEX!
SEX!
SEX!
SEX!
CUSTOMER SERVICE $4.99 U.S. $5.99 CAN.
1-800-615-8500 303-279-3077
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
MAY 1996
FEATURES 76
Hang On! Flavone X:
62
contents
The next frontier in drug-free muscle building! . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By Dan Duchaine
Built Like A Brick House
Building the foundation to a strong body. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By Bill Starr
70
Time To Grow
Working with the body’s “clock” to maximize growth. . . . . . . .
By T.C. Luoma
76
Drugs Across The Pond
84
An in-depth interview on steroids in Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By T.C. Luoma
Science Of Rest lntervals
New concepts on varying between-set rest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By Charles Poliquin
92
SCIENCE, HEALTH
& NUTRITION
Barry Sears:
25 years too soon—
Does the Zone diet work?.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By Dan Duchaine
130
Nutri-Facts
Hazardous Waist—
Causes of abdominal distention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
By Keith Klein
Body-Tech
Scientific information on
nutrition, steroids & training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
By Dr. José Antonio,
Keith Klein, and
98 Bruce Kneller
62
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A
Letter
NOBarred
NO HOLDS
From b y T C L u o m a
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shot. For a while there, it even got to the point Then, they began running swimsuit pictorials in
where we were plagued by doubt every time we put what seemed like every issue. Lo and behold, their
a picture of a woman in a layout. “Gosh, is she too sales jumped considerably. The content didn’t
sexy?” we asked ourselves. “Don’t we have any change too much, but when sex raised its head, “…just
pictures of Bev Francis from her powerlifting days sales were...well, erected.
or something?” (No offense to Ms. Francis; she The issue we struggle with is that we have tried because
looks nice now that her proportions are, shall I say, to make Muscle Media 2000 a very credible,
not so “man-like.”) straightforward, information-based publication,
they have
Somehow, this smacks of the worst kind of
irony. Think about it, here we are, in an industry
and if we run too many “T&A” photos, it seems
like it would take away from the serious nature of
an annual
that revolves around pictures of shaved, tanned many of the articles in the magazine. Then again, swimsuit
men in posing suits so tiny they’d cause a fit of sex- Sports Illustrated, which pioneered the swimsuit
ual apoplexy in the average gray-haired grand- issue phenomenon, is unquestionably a very credi- issue, does
mother, yet when we print pictures of women in ble sports magazine. I mean, just because they
equal states of dis-dress, we’re harpooned like have an annual swimsuit issue, does that mean that mean
salmon swimming through the river that runs by an their coverage of Olympic sports, the NFL, NBA,
Eskimo village. etc. is not as factual and hard hitting as ever? their
Despite the protests of this minority of readers, Likewise, if we run photos of girls in bikinis, does
sex sells. It’s a lesson the other bodybuilding mags that mean Dan Duchaine’s or Bill Phillips’ Q&A coverage…
have learned very well. It’s a formula Muscle & columns and all of our other features and columns
Fitness has used successfully for quite some time. aren’t as good as always? is not as
It’s the rare issue that doesn’t feature a cover with From time to time, we’ve been known to take a
the hottest vixen imaginable panting over some pro “jab” at the other muscle mags, but in this instance,
factual and
bodybuilder. MuscleMag has made Marla
Duncan’s butt as recognizable as Bill Clinton’s
I find myself defending them. Just because
Muscular Development runs numerous pictures of
hard hitting
face. Flex’s monthly nude or semi-nude pictorials beautiful, sexy, and fit ladies, does that mean their as ever?“
are wildly popular, but truth be told, it’s made me information on training and nutrition should be
wonder about some of the fans of these pictorials. taken less seriously? I don’t think so.
If I look at some of those photographs and blur my If putting pictures of beautiful, sexy ladies on the
eyes just a little bit, I could swear I’m looking at a cover of muscle magazines gets guys to pick them
picture of Roger Stewart or some equally long- up and read them, it probably, in the long run,
haired male bodybuilder. But, hey, whatever does helps introduce more folks to weight training,
it for you. Perhaps the best example of the “sex proper nutrition, and supplementation.
sells” adage is Muscular Development. A year or Even though Muscle Media 2000 is in competi-
two ago, they were “hangin’ in there,” trying the tion with publications like MuscleMag, Muscular
best they could to publish an informative maga- Development, Ironman, etc., we all have one thing
zine. Trouble was, their sales were only “so-so.” in common—we all believe weight training is a
MAY 1996
PLEASE DISPLAY UNTIL 4/16/96 PLEASE DISPLAY UNTIL 4/16/96 PLEASE DISPLAY UNTIL 4/16/96
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NOBarred
NO HOLDS fantastic form of exercise that can benefit virtually
everyone, and we believe proper nutrition and sup-
Although sex is a great selling tool, it shouldn’t
be the only thing you have going for you.
plementation can help us all become healthier and Information is the name of the game, and no matter
C O N T I N U E D
more satisfied with our physical appearance. how many “hot” photos you might find in future
As we mentioned in our last issue, it makes perfect issues of MM2K, we’ll still give you the “no holds
“…I urge sense that magazines which are all about building bet- barred” scoop on training, nutrition, supplements,
ter bodies have breathtaking and “stimulating” pic- steroids, and more!
the ’silent tures of awesome physiques—both male and female. So, all of you self-righteous Puritans out there
And even though some people believe the muscle who have been knocking the bodybuilding maga-
majority‘ of magazines’ swimsuit issues “sexually exploit” zines’ new “sexy” look, take a chill pill! If you
women, a relatively sound argument could be made don’t like the photos, just turn the page. Finally, I
bodybuilding that they “celebrate” the female form. And, I know urge the “silent majority” of bodybuilding mag
for a fact that ever since the muscle magazines have readers (who love all those “hot shots”) to judge
mag readers been publishing numerous photos of fit, feminine a book by more than its cover—that is, once
(who love females (who train with weights but don’t use you’ve “sneaked a peak” at all of those pictures
steroids), more and more women are getting of beautiful bodies, evaluate what’s left. Is the
all those involved in fitness/bodybuilding. And what on rest of the magazine filled with honest, cutting-
earth could possibly be wrong with that? edge information on how you can build a better
‘hot shots’) The way we feel at MM2K is that if some “sexy” body? Or, is it just filled with superficial “fluff”
photos can increase our magazine’s circulation or that leaves you “high and dry” and craving useful
to judge make our readers “pay attention,” it just means bodybuilding facts?
a book more people are going to have access to the best,
straightforward, accurate information on fitness
Think about it...
Dear Bill,
I am glad you enjoyed my interview in the latest
“MuscleMag.” I thought it was really good if I say
so myself. I was honest in my opinion of your mag-
azine and stated only facts (statements that are
true). This seems to be something that Dan
Duchaine has a problem with (you know, the con-
vict that just got out of prison who works for your
mag). I guess what I want to tell you is that your
[sic] letting some really low life individuals
destroy the creditability [sic] of your publication.
By letting Dan Duchaine print that article about
the internet proves what I’ve been saying about
your trash mag. I’ts [sic] great because everyone
“Are you angry because is finally realizing that the only thing your mag is
you have the good for is maybe starting a fire, or maybe toilet
paper. I’m going to have to decline at this point in
body of a time on your invite to fly to Colorado to meet you.
When we meet you’ll be the first one to know it.
10 year Would you please tell Dan Duchaine to call me or
old girl?” leave a message where I can find him. Also wuold
[sic] you please answer these questions.
1. Are you angry because you have the body of
a 10 year old girl?
Covers Home
C
Letters
O N T I N U E D
blind, placebo-controlled, peer-reviewed research studies.
We’ve actually featured a number of these Average
Andys in Muscle Media 2000. However, you’ve got to
admit, a steady diet of pictures of regular, average people
wouldn’t inspire people to nearly the degree that some of
the Glamorous Glendas or Flawless Freds do. This is some-
thing the fashion mag business learned a long time ago;
after all, you don’t see Roseanne modeling Oleg Cassini
clothes or swimsuits.
“It really We’ll definitely keep your suggestions in mind and pass
them on to Butthead Bill (Uh-oh, we’re in trouble now!),
but we feel we already address the topics of steroids, genet-
does my heart ics, and muscle-building potential in Muscle Media 2000
more thoroughly than any other bodybuilding magazine
ever has!
and mind good
to know that IF YOU THINK HE’S
NICE, YOU SHOULD
there are MEET THE
people around REST OF US.
I recently had the opportunity to
MM2K:
whose Waikoloa
spend a week in Hawaii at the
Hilton Resort with my friend and training
partner Carol Elwyn. Our last morning there, while train- Virtually
all successful
perspective ing the resort’s general manager, Dieter Segar, we also
H O T T a l k
NEWS
NEWS &
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
TIDBITS
Body- New Sex
builder Pill from
X’s Twin
Identity Twin Laboratories has just
Still a released a new product called
Mystery “Male Fuel.” The supplement
allegedly increases potency and
The entire bodybuilding helps protect a man’s “goods”
world is still trying to from common health-related
figure out the identity woes. The product contains things
of Bodybuilder X like yohimbe bark, L-arginine,
(“I Confess,” January ginkgo, Vitamin E, Vitamin B-6,
1996). For those of you
L-tyrosine, saw palmetto, and a
who didn’t read the inter-
number of other compounds.
view (What happened?
Male Fuel was developed by
Were you in a coma?), we
paid a pro bodybuilder Steve Blechman, Vice President of
$3,000 for a completely Product Development and
candid interview. His confessions were, well, a little unsavory. In other words, Marketing for Twin Laboratories.
this guy’s personality most resembles the stuff you’d scrape off your shoe after If the reputation of the designer of
you’ve come home from the Westminster Dog Show. Anyhow, we’ve been told that Male Fuel is any indication of
the pros are all scratching their heads trying to figure out who Bodybuilder X is. what kind of product this will be,
They’ve guessed that it might be Dorian, Achim, Paul, or Sonny—but it ain’t it should be a doosey—Blechman
none of them guys. The identity of Bodybuilder X is still a mystery (to the public, is widely recognized as a world-
not us!). And, the fun isn’t limited to within U.S. borders. The Australians are class dick! (Just kidding, Steve.)
buzzing over it, as are the English, as evidenced by the short article reprinted
Male Fuel is available at
above from a British bodybuilding magazine.
General Nutrition Centers and
We will, however, give you a hint: someone correctly guessed the identity of
health-food stores everywhere.
Bodybuilder X on Internet exchanges last December 27.
Covers Home
H O T T a l k
W H A T ’ S H A P P E N I N G
O
kay, now it’s my turn to ask you a ques-
tion—I need your input on something
One of the main reasons given for wanting to look muscular but not
I’ve been trying to figure out for a
“freaky” was that many believe after a certain point, you surpass an
while. I know we all want to have more
muscle and less fat. I also know most of
you aren’t necessarily interested in com-
72% aesthetic, attractive look—one that’s pleasing to the self and others.
peting in bodybuilding contests, but you would-
n’t mind looking like you could enter a contest. One thing that was clear is that those who responded are trying very hard
Shawn Phillips
Now, I’m trying to figure something else out. If
you could have as much muscle as you wanted, to improve their bodies. They all remarked that they wanted more muscle than
how much would you want? Would you want to
be freaky big/huge like Paul DeMayo? Or lean,
they had!
but muscular, like a GQ model? Or, would you
rather be somewhere in between?
If you get a chance, drop me a note or send me
6% Most readers felt it was possible to build a physique like Shawn’s
a fax and tell me what your ideal physique would (who is 5’10” tall and weighs 208 lbs with 6%-7% bodyfat), whereas
look like, and in one or two sentences, tell me
why you want to look that way. I don’t need this they realized it probably would not be possible to build a physique like Paul’s
information for any particular reason; I’m just
curious.
(who is 5’8” tall, weighs 270 lbs, and probably has 3% bodyfat). Obviously,
You can fax your feedback to Bill Phillips at 303-
384-0088 or mail it to Bill Phillips, P.O. Box 277,
they’re right, and it’s good to see more people are shooting for a realistic goal.
Brad Minns
Golden, CO 80402.
One last observation—the younger guys (between 18 and 24) wanted to
look more like Paul, whereas the guys who were 24 and older either wanted
to look like Brad Minns or Shawn. Interesting…
H O T T a l k
CONTINUED
NEWS
NEWS & T HE D ENVER B USINESS J OURNAL
TIDBITS
MM2K
on the Move!
Bill Phillips, the founder and owner of Muscle Media 2000, and
his “Fitness Companies” (MM2K, NSA, EAS, Mile High
Publishing, Power Systems Technologies, etc.) are on the move!
For the past two years, Phillips and his lead Project Coordinator,
Brevan Adams, have been designing what they describe as the ulti-
mate “fitness wonderland.” They took their ideas to Colorado’s best
construction firm, the Neenan Company (which recently com-
pleted the Denver Broncos’ new headquarters).
After months of preparation, builders broke ground on the $4.4
million project in early October. Construction will be completed in
May of this year.
Phillips’ 80 employees presently occupy 3 separate office and
warehouse locations in the Golden, Colorado, area. The new
company headquarters will be located just a block from its
current leased operation at the foot of the breathtaking Rocky
Mountains—12 minutes from downtown Denver and just a short
drive from world-famous resorts like Vail and Aspen. (hooked up to satellite TV, of course), pool tables, and a wet bar. The
The 60,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art office/warehouse complex will only things missing are a hospital and a cemetery, but Bill contends,
have extraordinary amenities, including a 3,000 sq ft gym, fully “We’re working on that!”
equipped with the highest-quality weight-training and aerobic Phillips claims, “This building is completely out of the ordinary
equipment available; a cafe with a spa chef; a salon (Bill can’t stand because I want our companies to be completely out of the ordinary!”
leaving work to get his hair cut); tanning booths; showers; and a He emphasizes that, “It’s my goal to have people want to be at
massage room. And, if all that’s not enough, the building will also work—I want them to be extremely comfortable—I want them to
have a theater that will comfortably seat 50. The theater will have a feel like kings and queens. For Muscle Media 2000 and my other
146 sq ft screen, THX surround-sound, satellite, a laser disk player, companies to be the best they can be, we need quality personnel.
rope lighting—the works! And, there will also be a 1,500 sq ft And today, more than ever, employees are looking for much more
break/game room, complete with multiple television monitors than just a paycheck—they want to work in an environment that
makes them comfortable—one that’s
conducive to a good quality of life.”
Phillips’ companies also offer an
incredible health insurance plan, a
401K program, generous paid vacations
and holidays, and significant supple-
ment discounts to all employees!
Wouldn’t it be nice to work for such
a company? Well, maybe you can!
Phillips states, “We’re always looking for
new talent—writers, photographers,
customer-care representatives, sales reps,
research assistants, editors, etc.”
If you think you’ve got what it takes
to be a part of the Muscle Media 2000
team, send your resume to Rick
Anderson, c/o MM2K, P.O. Box 277,
Golden, CO 80402, or fax your
resume to 303-279-6465.
A scale model shows what the new MM2K HQ will look like just a couple of months from now!
Covers Home
H O T T a l k
Mentzer
Packs It On
A story in a recent issue of Muscular Development (MD)
Mike Mentzer
described how bodybuilding legend Mike Mentzer packed on
30 pounds using a new Twin Lab supplement. The important
question they didn’t answer was, “Where did he pack those
30 pounds?”
At Muscle Media 2000’s recent “No Holds Barred” seminar
in Las Vegas, Mentzer gave a fantastic presentation on
high-intensity training, but Mike himself admitted his con-
dition was “less than optimal” and that he was going to
Photo: Alex Ardenti
H O T T a l k
CONTINUED
NEWS
NEWS &
TIDBITS Muscle Publishers’
Highs and Lows
Ever wonder about bodybuilding magazine covers? Which ones sell and which
ones don’t? Well, probably not, but believe us, it’s a fascinating “science.” Of course,
The Champ’s it doesn’t take a Mensa-level IQ to figure out that sex sells, and the numbers cer-
tainly support that. In the publishing business, we pay an awful lot of attention to
New Boy! percentages, more specifically, the percentage of magazines bought off the news-
stand. For instance, if there are 10 copies of Muscle Media 2000 at your local Piggly
Wiggly grocery store and 6 get purchased, the sales percentage for that issue is 60%
(let’s see, divide the hypotenuse by the denominator, carry the 6, multiply by the
square root of pi, yeah, 60%). If you hit at least 50%, that’s the magic number; it’s
like rushing for a hundred yards in a football game or going 4 for 4 in a baseball
game.
The cover plays a big part in the final sales numbers. If the cover sucks, your sales
suck. Conversely, if the cover is dynamite, sales are often dynamite. However, stick
some cleavage or rear end on the cover, and you’ve almost guaranteed yourself big
sales percentages (see this month’s “No Holds Barred” column).
The trouble is, these percentages are closely guarded secrets. Each magazine pro-
tects their “numbers” like a mother bear protecting her cubs. Still, it’s not that hard
to get indicators of how the various mags are doing. The good news is, all in all,
Lee and Robin Labrada are happy people are buying more bodybuilding mags than ever. However, each magazine has
to announce the birth of their second had its ups and downs.
child, Blade Cameron Labrada. A couple years ago, Muscular Development was sputtering along, rarely making a
dent in the bodybuilding publishing world. Then along came the May 1995 issue
Blade was born on January 18, 1996
which featured Kim Paul, a sexually provocative, bikini-clad “fitness model,” on the
at 7:31 a.m. in Houston, Texas. Blade cover. That issue was MD’s best-selling issue ever! Now, practically every other cover
weighed in at 8 lbs, 7 ounces, and features a fitness “bunny” on it. Hey, when you’ve touched on a winning formula,
why change it? Still, they have their “slow movers.” The December 1995 cover fea-
measured 20”. He joins his brother
tured Craig Titus, clad in only a palm leaf. Sales of that issue were very low, compar-
Hunter, 3, whose first question upon atively.
seeing the new baby was, “This is e- Ironman has hit on a similar winning formula. When they put Debee Halo on the
n-o-rmously exciting! Can I take him cover in a wet T-shirt back in April of ’95, the sales jumped. Flex and MuscleMag
have experienced the same kind of success when they went the girlie route. Flex’s
home and play Ninja Turtles with
biggest seller in ’95 featured Sharon Bruneau, Debbie Muggli, and Lenda Murray in
him?” hooker-style vinyl miniskirts. MuscleMag’s biggest seller was their swimsuit issue.
Conversely, Flex’s poorest selling cover of the year had Shawn Ray, Dennis Newman,
Proud papa Lee said, “Not before
and a kind of veiny and non-sexual shot of Michelle Andrea, whereas MuscleMag’s
he’s done with his workout...he still weakest cover featured Frank Sepe and the face of Monica Brant (her cleavage was
obscured by Sepe’s head).
has another set of overhead boob
Muscle & Fitness almost always features a lascivious babe on the cover, so the only
pulls to finish. Training for the 2020 big change occurs when they don’t put a woman on the cover. Their recent Tony
Mr. Olympia must start early!” Lee Little cover was their worst selling issue in recent memory.
Oh, and what has Muscle Media 2000 found? Well, we haven’t really experi-
continues, “All jesting aside, we’re
mented with the sex route. Our sales have been growing quite nicely, but we have
extremely happy and thank God for highs and lows, too. Our best cover in ’95 featured Joe Lazzaro and Laurie
Donnelly in a decidedly non-sexual pose. Our bomb of the year featured
this greatest of blessings.”
Mike O’Hearn.
Covers Home
H O T T a l k
HIGH LOW
HIGH LOW
HIGH LOW
HIGH LOW
A
gain!).
There’s not much information
Okay...if Muscle-Tech’s new supplements are
available on Muscle-Tech. But what
500% more effective than Phosphagain, then
I’ve seen so far lacks credibility.
Watch Out for Fake HMB! Take this claim which appeared in that recent
they’d produce an average gain of 26.75 lbs (5.35 x
500%) of lean mass in 28 days. That, my friends,
article for example, “...Muscle-Tech’s products are
ain’t the case! There’s no F-in’ way any supplement
over 500% more effective than any supplement
Optimal Supplement has been shown to produce gains like that.
currently available.” I’d sure like to see the sub-
The article constantly mentions Muscle-Tech’s
Dosages. stantiation for that! Five-hundred percent more
effective, huh? (Ridiculous claims like this make it
research, although it never mentions where this
research is being done, where it’ll be presented,
hard to believe any of the claims made about
who’s doing it, etc. I repeatedly attempted to con-
Muscle-Tech products.) If Muscle-Tech can prove
tact this Muscle-Tech company to ask for more
that claim, I’ll personally cut them a check for
information on their research but made no
$10,000!
progress. One of our MM2K researchers contacted
I have the results of a double-blind, placebo-con-
Greg Zulak (who wrote the Muscle-Tech article),
trolled study, which was done at a legitimate uni-
but Zulak couldn’t provide any information that
could back the “unbelievable” claims made in his
article.
Nowadays, you see supplement companies
throwing around the word “research” all the time.
For many supplement companies, “research”
means flipping through muscle magazines and try-
ing to figure out what products are selling well and
then attempting to imitate these products—that’s
basically what most “research” in the bodybuilding
business consists of.
In the last issue of Muscle Media 2000, I said
EAS was going to conduct more research to find
out what the optimal doses of creatine monohy-
drate are for bodybuilders. What I meant by
“research” was that double-blind, placebo-con-
trolled university studies are going to be con-
“...if they can prove their ducted, and scientific, analytical methods such as
supplements are 500% muscle biopsies, body-composition tests, perfor-
mance evaluations, etc. will be made before and
more effective...than any after giving the subjects various doses of creatine
other supplements monohydrate. Then, the statistics will be compiled
by experts, and the data will be presented at a sci-
available, I’ll Federal entific conference. That’s research!
One of the products mentioned in that
Express them a check MuscleMag article, that I’ve been getting a lot of
for $10,000 immediately.” questions on, is something called acetyl-L-carnitine
(ALC). ALC hasn’t been proven to do anything pos-
Covers Home
UN
UN CENSORED
C
Q&A
O N T I N U E D
Q I’ve heard a lot about top bodybuilders
using insulin to help them gain muscle,
and I’ve read some things about this in
the various magazines, but I can’t quite understand it.
Why use insulin? I thought high insulin levels made you
impact on pro bodybuilding—I have firsthand informa-
tion that a bodybuilder who came out of nowhere last
year and almost won the Olympia is a master with
insulin—he really knows what he’s doing!
Injectable insulin is something that has been used for
many years by diabetics—these are people who have a
fat. You have a knack for explaining things (sometimes disease which prevents their bodies from making enough
complicated things) in a way I can understand. What’s insulin (Type I diabetes), or they have a defect that causes
this whole insulin thing about? their cells not to recognize insulin (Type II diabetes).
Usually, Type I diabetics have to take insulin shots a
“There’s no
doubt that
insulin use is
A Here’s your insulin crash course: as you
most likely know, insulin is a protein
hormone that’s secreted by an organ
right in the middle of your gut called the pancreas. You
might think of insulin as a “nutrient storage” hormone.
few times each day to help their bodies transport glucose
out of their blood and into cells. Now, you might be
wondering if insulin is such a great bodybuilding drug,
how come all diabetics aren’t muscular and lean? Well,
remember what I said earlier—how insulin works
Simply put, what insulin does is escort protein (amino depends a lot on who’s using it. Bodybuilders who are
having a major acids) and carbohydrates (glucose or blood sugar) into already lean and have a lot of muscle can get even bigger
various cells of the body. and leaner with insulin use, but for people who aren’t
impact on pro For example, let’s say you just drank a glass of orange working out hard with weights, aren’t already quite mus-
juice. That orange juice is processed by your digestive sys- cular, and aren’t using other bodybuilding drugs, insulin
bodybuild- tem into the simplest form of carbohydrate (glucose), would probably have virtually no positive effects on body
and it’s shuttled into your bloodstream. Then, insulin composition.
ing...” comes along and takes that glucose into various cells Anyway, the bodybuilders I’ve been talking with use
where it’s used for energy or stored. anywhere from 20 to 40 international units (IU’s) of
Insulin also helps glucose and amino acids get into insulin a day. There are two main types of insulin—long-
muscle cells which facilitates anabolism. And, it acting and short-acting. Short-acting insulin stays
can help prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue in the body for about six hours after injection.
which makes it anti-catabolic. (Insulin shouldn’t be injected into a vein or intra-
But as you mentioned, insulin can be a “double- muscularly—it goes under the skin or “subcuta-
edged sword.” That is, it can also prevent the neously.”) This type of insulin usually kicks in
breakdown of bodyfat and increase bodyfat about an hour or two after you take it.
storage. All types of insulin should be stored in a cool
However, a lot of bodybuilders are using place like a refrigerator but not a freezer.
insulin, and they’re not getting fat— they’re There are different sources of insulin—stan-
getting bigger and more cut than ever. Why is dard and purified animal insulins as well as
this? Well, it seems insulin, when given to a human insulins are available. Standard and
lean, muscular bodybuilder, increases defini- purified insulins differ in their degree of
tion and muscle fullness. But insulin, when purification and content of non-insulin
given to obese persons, can make them even material. Standard and purified insulins also
fatter. come from different sources—they may be
Remember how I told you insulin was a from beef, pork, or a mixture of the two.
“nutrient storage” hormone? Well, it’s also a Human insulin is identical in structure to
nutrient storage hormone with bias. If you’re the insulin produced by the human pancreas,
placing extreme physical demands on your and it differs slightly from animal insulin.
body by doing intense weight training and you’re not One thing some bodybuilders have pointed out is if
taking in an excess amount of calories, the insulin in your they switch from animal to human insulin (or vice versa),
body wants to take nutrients to muscle cells preferentially they often notice a different reaction from the same
over fat cells. dosage—this is just one of several complicated hurdles
On the other hand, if you’re a sedentary person who that insulin-using bodybuilders have to deal with.
consumes an excess number of calories, day in and day Keep this in mind—your pancreas naturally releases
out, insulin will increase your bodyfat levels. insulin (if you’re not a Type I diabetic) after your blood
Now, a lot of top bodybuilders are using insulin, along sugar levels rise. Thus, it’s insulin’s job to keep things as
with growth hormone, steroids, clenbuterol, thyroid “steady” as possible. But when you take an insulin injec-
drugs, and/or IGF-1. In that environment, it appears tion, you’re causing your blood sugar levels to go down—
insulin’s even more effective, and it may cause growth this is called hypoglycemia.
hormone (GH) and IGF-1 to become potent muscle If bodybuilders take a shot of insulin first thing in the
builders and fat burners. (I’m not convinced IGF-1 or morning and then just eat complex carbohydrates, they
GH are all that great on their own.) probably won’t create a high enough blood sugar level by
There’s no doubt that insulin use is having a major the time their insulin shot “kicks in,” and they can go
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UN CENSORED
I certainly wouldn’t recommend insulin injections to RU 486 is interesting—I’ll admit that. But if you’re
Q&A the typical Muscle Media 2000 reader who’s trying to going to take the drug route, I’m virtually positive RU
build a more muscular, better-looking physique. If you’re 486 won’t produce better results than even a low dose of
C O N T I N U E D
not heavily involved in competitive bodybuilding, I defi- anabolic steroids, and if you’re going to take the drug-free
nitely don’t think it’s worth the risk! However, since it’s route (which is what I do), I think you can get better
my job to tell you the truth about what’s going on—I “anti-catabolic” effects with something like HMB than
have to address questions like this one. you could with RU 486.
Now, how can “non-kamikaze” bodybuilders “mimic” To date, no studies have shown that RU 486 helps
the results pros are getting from using injectable insulin? weight trainers gain more size and strength. And I’ve
Well, that’s something some pretty smart “bodybuilding heard from quite a few bodybuilders who tried RU 486
“...a number scientists” are aggressively studying at this very moment. (mostly bodybuilders from Europe), and none of them
You see, taking insulin injections is not the only way to reported anything spectacular.
of “enhance” the anabolic and anti-catabolic effects of
supplement
companies
are working
insulin. Vanadyl sulfate, an “insulin mimicker” that is
extremely popular with bodybuilders, is one possible
“drug-free” way to gain an advantage, but new research
has led to even more exciting discoveries in this area.
Within the next year, I think you’ll have access to a
legal, safe “insulin mimicker” which could significantly
enhance your body’s ability to shuttle carbohydrates and
Q The guy who runs my gym told me he’s
going to start carrying a form of HMB put
out by American Strength and Fitness or
something like that. Do you know if their HMB is any
good?
on fake proteins from your bloodstream into muscle cells. The
versions of
HMB and plan
compound that may do this is called IPF™ (insulin poten-
tiating factor™), and it’s been “on the drawing board” for
a couple of years now. The guys behind this product are
the same folks who introduced bodybuilders to creatine
monohydrate (probably the most popular supplement in
A It’s a scam! I’ve learned that a number of
supplement companies are working on
fake versions of HMB and plan to
release them to the market any day now. One company
that’s calling their supplement “HMB” is actually
to release bodybuilding history!). They claim their new IPF com- putting in three ingredients: histidine, methionine, and
some B-vitamins. What a rip-off!
them to the pound will work very similar to insulin injections for
bodybuilders (but it’s not something diabetics should use Don’t be fooled—HMB stands for BETA-HYDROXY
BETA-METHYLBUTYRATE!
market any instead of injectable insulin!). The product is being
designed to assist with muscle building, but it won’t be so The only legitimate supplier of this supplement is
Metabolic Technologies, Inc. (MTI) of Ames, Iowa. This
day now.” powerful that it can cause severe hypoglycemia and other
dangers associated with injectable insulin use. (Of course, company has licensed the HMB patents from the Iowa
MM2K will be the first mag to bring you the whole story State University Research Foundation (ISURF).
on IPF.) Not only does MTI own the patent rights, to my
One last note—if you’re thinking about using insulin, knowledge, they’re also the only ones who know how to
think twice—it’s really risky! make this stuff in bulk quantities. It took them years to
figure out how to produce HMB.
putting an HMB label on a product taking HMB twice a day; in fact, he thinks instead of tak-
that’s just totally and completely ing one gram (four capsules) three times daily, that taking
fake! These folks are absolute crimi- two capsules six times daily might be best. Thus, what I
nals; they’re as bad as those dirtbags just started doing is taking two capsules of HMB every
who sell counterfeit steroids. three hours while I’m awake. This way, the HMB levels in
There’s no shortage of people out my blood stay more consistent.
there who are willing to pour My problem with using a meal-replacement powder
Wesson oil in a vial, put a fake that contains 1.5 grams of HMB per serving is that you
label on it, sell it to you for $20 would lose the versatility you have with capsules.
per milliliter, and tell you it’s Capsules are extremely convenient—you can keep a small
Deca-Durabolin. What makes packet of them in your pocket, your briefcase, whatever.
you think there would be any It’s very easy to take two capsules six times a day.
shortage of people who’d take
some cheap amino acid, encapsu-
According to the doctors who have extensively studied
HMB, they say you can take it on an empty or full stom-
“This was
late it, put it in a bottle, and tell
you it’s HMB?
ach—it shouldn’t make any difference.
In the most recent HMB clinical study, the test sub-
the second
You’ve got to be
careful! At this time,
jects used HMB in capsules and got great results! This
was the second study to offer strong evidence that weight
study to
Nutritional uses of Calcium β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate
Monohydrate (HMB) are licensed to Metabolic
Technologies, Inc. under U.S. Patent #5,348,979.
the only brand of trainers who use HMB gain significantly more size and offer strong
HMB capsules on strength than nonusers! Also, test subjects who used
the market which I HMB in this recent study showed a strong trend for fat evidence
know to be legit is the loss! The test subjects took one gram of HMB three times
one put out by MTI. In the daily. So, we have strong evidence to suggest that that that weight
future, MTI does plan to allow other supplement com- dosage schedule is effective. But, it’s possible that chang-
panies to buy HMB from them and sell it under other ing the dosage pattern to two capsules six times daily, trainers who
brand names. For example, EAS hopes to buy HMB instead of four capsules three times daily, may produce
from MTI and sell it under the EAS brand name some- even better results! Perhaps this is something researchers use HMB gain
time in the future. But right now, all the details haven’t might look at sometime in the future.
been worked out. I’ll stay in contact with MTI and let significantly
you know who they’re selling HMB to—then I’ll tell you
which companies have the real stuff.
If I were you, I would make sure that before you buy
any type of HMB, you check the label to see if it lists
MTI as the source, and you should also watch for the
U.S. Patent Number 5,348,979. That’s a sign the stuff is
legit.
Q I was wondering if the recommended
dosage of supplements like creatine
monohydrate, HMB, CLA, and vanadyl
sulfate should be adjusted according to bodyweight. Do
you have any information on this?
more size and
strength than
nonusers!”
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example, I know some big bodybuilders (275 pounders) tell you how many sets they do, what weight they use, etc.
Q&A use a maintenance dose of 30 grams of creatine monohy- Basically, coverage of top bodybuilding contests is not
C O N T I N U E D
drate a day! something our industry is lacking, neither are fantastic
You can assume that the dosages we talk about most photos of well-built bodybuilding superstars and infor-
often in Muscle Media 2000 are basically for guys who mation on how they work out.
weigh between 150 and 220 pounds. If you’re in that Muscle Media 2000 is not going to get into that—ever!
range (which at least 80% of my readers are), you proba- It was not my intention when I started this magazine to
bly don’t need to make any adjustments. If you’re not in come out with a publication that was like the others—
that weight range, you might think about slightly I’ve always strived to make this magazine different—I’ve
decreasing or increasing your supplement intake in an been trying to make it useful, and I think we’ve accom-
attempt to “tailor” the dosage to fit your particular phys- plished that.
iological needs. Hopefully, future research will provide us The sales of Muscle Media 2000 are booming! And
“...most pro with more “exact” info. people certainly don’t read my magazine to find out who
won this or that bodybuilding contest nor do they buy
bodybuilders
can’t exactly
tell you what
they do to get
Q Why doesn’t Muscle Media 2000 have
any bodybuilding contest coverage in it?
How come there aren’t any articles about
the bodybuilding champions?
MM2K to read how this or that pro claims to have built
his or her muscularity.
The guys and gals who read this magazine do so
because they want to find out the real deal. You read
MM2K to find out how you can build a better body—
this publication is kind of like a guide for “do-it-your-
selfers.” Muscle Media 2000 isn’t a magazine for people
‘the look’
they have. A The majority of my readers don’t want
that kind of information from MM2K.
A few months ago, we ran a photo essay
and simply put down a listing of the top ten finishers at
the Mr. Olympia contest, and you would’ve thought I’d
who “sit on the sidelines”—it’s a fitness and physique
development magazine for people who specifically want
to learn how it’s done and how they can do it!
Unfortunately, most pro bodybuilders can’t exactly tell
you what they do to get “the look” they have. They’re
They’re caught sent a personal letter to tens of thousands of Muscle caught between a rock and a hard place. Because virtually
Media 2000 readers telling them their mothers were les- all of them use steroids (and a bunch of other body-
between a rock bians! I got more nasty letters about that Mr. Olympia building drugs), many of which are illegal, they can’t
“photo essay” than you would believe! openly talk about the use of these compounds. They talk
and a hard You see, the guy or gal who picks up Muscle Media with me about the drugs they use, but such conversations
2000 expects something different from us. If they want have to be kept confidential for obvious reasons. It’s not
place.” contest coverage, they know to buy Flex. That magazine that I don’t like pro bodybuilders—it’s not that at all. I
will tell you everything you want to know about the have a number of good friends who are pros. It’s just that
major bodybuilding contests—who came in first, second, my readers want the whole truth.
third, tenth, etc. I think the other magazines are good at what they
Flex magazine is also filled with fantastic photos of pro do—like I said, Flex has great bodybuilding contest cov-
bodybuilders working out, and it has some articles that have erage and incredible photos; MuscleMag has great gossip
apparently been writ- and some really funny advertisements which I enjoy read-
ten by pro body- ing; Muscular Development is the “sexiest” bodybuilding
builders where they magazine, etc. Each magazine has its own “specialty.”
Muscle Media 2000 unquestionably has the most accu- supplement program you’d recommend for a relatively fit
rate, honest, straightforward information on “what to (my girlfriend only needs to lose a few pounds of fat, and
use.” That is, we have the best information on new she wants to put on some muscle) 28-year-old woman. I
bodybuilding supplements and the most honest infor- think she has the potential to look like one of those fit- “...the main
mation on bodybuilding pharmaceuticals. ness models like Monica Brant or Laurie Donnelly.
We also have some pretty good training articles and reason people
some good information on nutrition, and I think, over-
all, Muscle Media 2000 has a pretty good sense of humor.
But, the main reason people read this magazine is
because they want to find out what to use and how to use
it. That’s what we’re good at, so it makes sense that we
A I’ve been getting more and more ques-
tions like this over the past few months.
It’s an obvious sign that more ladies are
taking an interest in “bodybuilding.” I’m certain the
reason more women than ever are interested in weight
read this
magazine is
because they
should focus on that the most. training is because the muscle magazines have stopped
running so many “freakish” pictures of female body- want to find
Guru Whenever
I use clen-
buterol, it
works great for about two weeks. After
that, I can use ten tabs a day and my tem-
perature will hardly rise. What can I do
“I happen
to know the
entire
about this?
history of
A Clenbuterol is a beta-2
agonist. It attaches to the
same receptor as your nat-
ural adrenaline and noradrenaline do. It
has a very high bonding capacity to the
this
counterfeit
adrenergic receptor. Whenever a drug fits
because
well onto a cell receptor, the receptor I designed
becomes resistant to that drug. For exam-
ple, the thermogenic effect of ephedrine the
The original source of our meth- seems to have a longer duration (though it’s not as
androstenolone was from Germany. potent) for two reasons: 1) ephedrine doesn’t have a bottle,
We also purchased oxandrolone high receptor affinity, and 2) ephedrine is not beta-2
from Searle in England. specific. label, and
This was ironic You might have heard about the newly discovered
because Labora- beta-3 receptors. The receptor is primarily a thermogenic tablets.”
tory Milano and I messenger, and over half the thermogenic effect from
duplicated the Searle ephedrine is from beta-3 stimulation. Although the ther-
Anavar exactly (the tablet mogenic message is not as intense as the beta-2 message,
mold cost us $10,000) and sold beta-3 receptors are very resistant to down-regulation.
it for half the cost of what Searle sold Clenbuterol, however, has very little beta-3 stimulation.
it for wholesale to pharmacies. Searle Until some new synthetic beta-3 agonist is commer-
became so frustrated over this (we sold the counterfeit cially available, the beta agonist of choice is still clen-
Anavar to American pharmacies) that the Anavar bottle buterol (although the stronger cimaterol is available as a
size was doubled to differentiate between ours and research chemical in the U.S.). The rapid receptor sensi-
theirs. tivity attenuation happens to all users, and the various
All the steroid tablets were smuggled in bulk across the dosage schemes (i.e., two days on, two days off ) just
border and dropped off at various motel rooms around aren’t successful.
San Diego. The bottles and labels were made in Tijuana This attenuation and the lowering of above-normal
and legally exported to America. Mexican women would body temperature are governed by two different mecha-
count tablets, load them into the bottles, and box them in nisms. I’ve written
packages of 100. about one of
I stopped working with Laboratory Milano in the fall them before: the
of 1986. From that point on, the company cranked up shunting of T4
production and flooded the American black market. Just thyroid away from
before the arrest of the major “players” (myself included), the active T3 form
Laboratory Milano produced some unusual products into the ineffective
which I had designed. One was a methandrostenolone reverse-T3. Most of
with a diuretic and liver antitoxin added. Others included the thyroid in the
very powerful injectable versions of oxandrolone and body is the inac-
oxymetholone. I can honestly say that these two exotic tive T4 type.
injectables are the most potent steroids I have ever used. The active thy-
Since the breakup and prosecution of the Laboratory roid that actually fits onto thy-
Milano conspiracy, the company has ceased all opera- roid receptors is a reduced T4, and reduced T4 occurs
tions. Nevertheless, some of the former employees still when one of the iodine atoms is cleaved off the molecule
have the ability to produce the various bottles, labels, and by a specific enzyme (deiodinase). Since we have no way
tablets of the various steroids. However, none of these of stopping the T4 from being transformed into ineffec-
current counterfeits have any steroid in them, the Ludwig tive reverse-T3 instead of the active T3, and there’s no
Heun version included. So if you see any European such thing as injectable deiodinase (which would prevent
steroid being sold in a Mexican pharmacy, it’s a counter- the reduction), the best approach is to supplement the
feit with no active steroid ingredients. missing T3 with Cytomel, a synthetic T3.
Covers Home
A
ASK The trouble is, it’s likely a daily amount of Cytomel Between the small intestine and the
The
GURU higher than 25 mcg would eventually stop the produc-
tion of natural thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and
liver, all proteins are reduced to individ-
ual amino acids. And each amino has
C O N T I N U E D
the up-regulation will take about 8 weeks. Then, when the ability to cause both insulin and glucagon secretion
you go off Cytomel, your body’s still lagging in produc- from the pancreas. Glucagon is insulin’s evil twin: it’s
“...large tion of TSH. So now you know why almost everybody considered a catabolic hormone. However, glucagon
who stops taking thyroid (with the exception of the drug secretion doesn’t happen in large amounts until blood
dosages of Triacana) gets fat. For eight weeks, the body doesn’t need glucose falls to about 50 mg per decaliter (one tenth of
as many calories. a liter). Unlike insulin, which circulates in the blood,
the Up to this point, the Cytomel trick was only a partial the small amount of glucagon secreted from amino
solution. The second and major decrease of body tem- acids stays mostly in the liver. Glucagon’s job in the liver
antihistamine perature is caused by the down-regulation of the beta-2 is to speed the release of glycogen. Glycogen is a com-
receptor. The receptor actually is still in the cell but not plex starch. The same type of glycogen stored
ketotifen in its usual place. The receptor must be at the outside of in the liver is also
(trade name the cell surface to be available to the beta agonist. There stored in skeletal mus-
is research showing that large dosages of the antihista- cle. Glucagon sends the
Zaditen by mine ketotifen (trade name Zaditen by Sandoz) will up- message to the liver
regulate the beta-2 receptors. This is similar to the to reconvert
Sandoz) American Periactin (cyproheptadine). This class of anti- glycogen
histamine will cause drowsiness, hunger, and irritability,
will but you may think the negative symptoms are a small
price to pay.
up-regulate Here are the particulars. Zaditen is only available in
France in 1-mg capsules, 60 capsules to a box. It sells for
the beta-2 65.10 francs (about $12.25). Because of its appetite- back to
stimulating and muscle-building properties, Zaditen is glucose,
receptors.” sold through some of the American AIDS buying clubs. which
The average price for it in America is $40 a box. The dose is then
needed for the up-regulation of the beta-2 receptors is released into
about 10 capsules (10 mg)—assuming you’ve been using 3 the bloodstream.
clenbuterol tablets (60 The reason why eat-
mcg) each day. Sigma ing protein along with
Chemicals, the company carbohydrates causes
that has all the bodybuild- more muscle glycogen
ing goodies we like but deposition is because
can’t buy (including ste- the additional insulin
roids), does sell ketotifen (although insulin secre-
(the fumarate version is tion caused by amino
water soluble) in raw acids is small compared
bulk form. Keep in mind to a glucose response) is
that even when used with clenbuterol, available in the blood-
which both reduces appetite and is more of a stream, and the glu-
stimulant than caffeine, Zaditen will still cause sleepi- cagon pushes glucose out of the liver into the blood-
ness and hunger. Those aren’t nice effects, especially if stream.
you’re dieting. It might be more efficient to use an isolated amino acid
Your final solution to sustain clenbuterol’s action is to with a carbohydrate meal to “push” blood glucose into
use both Cytomel (25 mcg) and Zaditen (10 mg) each muscle cells. Not all amino acids have the same ability to
day after using clenbuterol by itself for 2 weeks. You’ll generate insulin and glucagon. In looking over the scien-
need only 60 mcg of clenbuterol for a very pronounced tific research, you’ll find that the amino acid glycine elic-
thermogenic effect, hypothetically speaking, of course. its the highest secretion of both insulin and glucagon.
The branched-chain amino acids elicit very little glu-
BODYOPUS, Dan Duchaine’s new book, is coming soon! (Seriously...it is! Dan swears on the Holy Bible it won’t be
much longer!) Watch for details on how to get a copy of this fantastic new book in future issues of Muscle Media 2000.
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TC
Gyno Surgery is Ugly!
TC
TALKS
C O N T I N U E D
beginning after taking it for a long time, so it might not
be a bad idea to cycle anyhow. That way, you’re maxi-
mizing your dollar power and your supplement power.
Theoretically, at least, you’d always be trying a “new” sup-
plement, and your body may continue to respond favor-
ably to it.
Obviously, if money weren’t an issue, I’d use all three
of them together, but in your case, this is a viable alter-
“One native that should help you put on muscle while not hav-
ing to declare bankruptcy.
widely
reported
study
involving
old people
Q I’m a 30-year-old bodybuilder who’s
interested in using DHEA. I recently got
some through the mail, but the only trou-
ble is, I have no idea what dosage to take! I read your
article on fat burners a couple of months ago, and you
cited a study where men who had used 1,600 mg a day
found that experienced significant fat loss while retaining lean
body mass. Taking 1,600 mg sounds like a lot, and it sure
a modest would be expensive. Do smaller dosages have any
effect?
amount of
DHEA—
50 mg—
A I’ve searched the literature on this stuff,
and as far as I can tell, only 2 dosages
have been used in all of the studies I
found: 50 mg per day and 1,600 mg per day. Quite a
difference, isn’t it? What’s more, there doesn’t seem to be
had any rhyme or reason behind the dosages. When you’re
in your 20’s, your body makes tons of DHEA, between could possibly be anabolic in some respects. Whether it
positive 7 mg and 15 mg a day (in addition to the amounts acts like testosterone or some weaker cousin is unknown,
already in the body). After your 20’s, natural amounts or it could be that restoring DHEA levels to normal
effects...” start dropping off progressively, so by the time you’re an amounts or, in fact, higher-than-normal amounts
old geezer, your body is nearly devoid of all DHEA. through supplementation might allow your body to
Of course, even though natural levels of secretion are build muscle according to your physiological potential.
between 7 and 15 mg a day, that doesn’t mean simply In other words, high DHEA levels might, in some way,
taking that same amount would bring you to “normal” potentiate levels of GH, IGF-1, or testosterone.
levels. Too many things happen to the chemicals in a pill I’m gonna tell you right now, DHEA science is so
before they reach the bloodstream, and 100 grams of a young that the proper dosages for weight loss, increasing
substance might only equate to 10 mg in serum. Besides, muscle mass, or keeping the grim reaper away are more
I’m not sure anyone knows the half-life of DHEA, so the or less unknown. I can, however, come up with some
daily secretion of an additional 7 to 15 mg of DHEA semi-educated guesses. For simply “staying young,” I’d
might only replenish that portion of serum levels that recommend a dosage of between 50 and 100 mg a day.
have deactivated normally. For bodybuilding purposes, I’d cautiously recommend
One widely reported study involving old people found between 200 and 250 mg a day, and for obese people, I’d
that a modest amount of DHEA—50 mg—had positive recommend up to 500 mg a day—if you can afford it.
effects in reversing some of the markers of aging (increas- There’s no way I’m going to advise that anyone take
ing IGF-1 levels, for one), in addition to giving the peo- 1,600 mg or anywhere near that amount unless you’re
ple in the study an overall feeling of well-being. Other under a doctor’s supervision—just too little is known
studies, mostly involving obese men in their 20’s, used about the stuff to start eating it like candied peanuts.
1,600 mg of DHEA for periods up to 6 weeks. Most of Besides, smaller doses might be just as effective.
the men in these studies ended up losing considerable Incidentally, there’s been a lot of confusion over
amounts of bodyfat without actually losing any weight! DHEA’s legal status, with some declaring loudly that the
That means they must have put on a significant amount drug is a controlled Schedule III drug (similar to steroids)
of muscle. No studies have shown any ill effects of and others saying it’s as legal as mother’s milk. As of now,
DHEA supplementation. it seems DHEA is a legal over-the-counter drug, but
Now, old people and fat people aside, what can DHEA make no mistake about it, the DEA is looking at the drug
do for the average person or average bodybuilder, and very closely and gathering information on it just in case
what dosage is needed to create those effects? DHEA the FDA decides to take it off the shelves. Of course, that
Covers Home
may never happen. The FDA initially wanted to make the effectiveness of ephedrine by about 50%, so logi-
DHEA a prescription-only drug, and that’s what hap- cally, you could take half the dosage of ephedrine and
pened about ten years ago. Trouble was, rules and regu- still experience good results.
lations required that the FDA have a public hearing Adding the L-tyrosine could also make the stack safer
where people opposing the new DHEA determination in general. When ingested, L-tyrosine is converted to
could voice their complaints. The FDA kept postponing noradrenaline, a stimulatory hormone that increases the
this hearing, and when the new supplement laws went blood pressure, but it’s first converted to dopamine,
into effect last year, the burden of proof fell on the FDA. which has a blood-pressure lowering effect. You can buy
In other words, they had to show if and why DHEA L-tyrosine at almost any health-food store.
could be harmful. This is a costly and time-consuming
process, so it may never happen.
“...L-
on computer circuit boards for a living, and I can’t have
my hands shaking, even a little. Besides, all of the neg-
ative publicity about ephedrine has my fiancèe a little
worried. She wants me to get off the stuff. Is there any
way, short of going off the combo, to make it less stim-
A The product known as DHEA-Plus
doesn’t contain any DHEA—not a lick.
Nowhere in their literature does Nutra-
ceutics claim their product contains DHEA, but the
word DHEA is sprinkled liberally throughout their
tyrosine
increased
ulating (and more safe)? brochures. I think what they’re trying to say is that their
product somehow enhances natural DHEA production,
the
TC
TALKS
C O N T I N U E D
Q I’m going to Europe this spring. Are there
any compounds or drugs I should be on
the lookout for, I mean, aside from the
ing Iprivalone therapy, the patients had gained between
four and seven pounds of lean body mass, without the
benefit of resistance training or increased caloric intake.
Interestingly, a U.S. patent for Iprivalone as an “ana-
bolic weight-gain promoting chemical” was granted in
1976, but for reasons unknown to me, its widespread
“...a U.S. usual steroids I hear about?
manufacture and use was never pursued. It isn’t currently
A
available in the U.S., but on the other hand, it’s not a
patent for It just so happens that I recently heard
controlled substance, either. However, somewhere along
about a compound that’s sold in
Iprivalone Hungary and possibly Italy that may
the line, Hungarians decided Iprivalone would be a valu-
able drug in combating osteoporosis, and that’s what it’s
have profound anabolic effects with very little or no neg-
as an ative side effects. The drug is called Iprivalone, and it
used for today in Hungary (200 mg, 3 times a day).
If indeed Iprivalone is as anabolic as some of the stud-
belongs to a class of chemicals called isoflavones. (See
‘anabolic Dan Duchaine’s article, “Flavone X—The Next Frontier
ies show it is, how in the wide, wide world of drugs does
in Drug-Free Muscle Building” in this it work? Based on animal studies, the compound some-
weight- issue.) These chemicals are found in a how seems to increase nitrogen retention, but you prob-
number of plant species, and their ably could have guessed that on your own. Dan
gain effects are varied. Iprivalone, in animal Duchaine and one of his inscrutable assistants, Patrick
studies, has shown amazing nutrient- Arnold, initially worried that Iprivalone might have weak
promoting partitioning effects in a number of ani- estrogen-agonist properties, but subsequent research by
mal species (cattle, rabbits, poultry, and Arnold showed that the Iprivalone metabolite circulates
chemical’ guinea pigs, to name a few). Animals in the bloodstream bound to another chemical that ren-
receiving normal amounts of food put ders it estrogenically inert.
was on large amounts of muscle mass—up Although I have no idea what the safest and most
to 20% more in some cases—without effective dosage is, I’d probably double the female osteo-
granted in any detectable changes in hormone lev- porosis dose—2 times 200 mg, 3 times a day equals 400
els. In addition, they had more energy and more mg 3 times a day—and work up from there. Of course,
1976...” endurance. The question is, though, will it work in Hungary is a long way away for the rest of us, but if you
humans? Well, at least one study was reportedly done, stumble on some and decide to give it a try, let us know
using 20 chronically ill patients. Within weeks of start- what happens.
Covers Home
Finding a
"Cooperative"
Doctor
M E D I BOLICS
B y M I C H A E L M O O N E Y
Designing a
Steroid Cycle
Testosterone and
the Immune System
Q I have multiple sclerosis, an
autoimmune disease, and have
discovered that using anabolic
steroids has totally changed my life. When I first
started using steroids, I could only bench press 40
the MS symptoms increase, so I know he’s wrong,
and they’re good for me. Because of your article
on steroids and the immune system, I think you
probably understand. The problem is my supply is
about to dry up, and my doctor won’t prescribe
lbs. Five years later, I now bench 270, squat 275 for steroids, so I’m forced to be a felon. Do you have
5 reps, and deadlift 525 lbs with wrist straps any tips on getting a doctor to help me? I can’t
because the MS limits my grip strength [WOW 525 identify myself, but thanks for publishing your
lbs!!!]. I use one Sustanon 250 and 200 mg of Deca work. Please keep spreading the word.
every 10 days. My doctor thinks I’m nuts, but when
I go off the steroids, I get weaker and weaker, and
ical journal articles, before you meet with him, so you can autoimmune—can give this list to his or her doctor. “...I’m sure my
prove you know what you’re talking about. If the doctor That way, the doctor may deem there’s good reason to
disagrees with what you say entirely, tell him you don’t consider anabolic steroids like Deca Durabolin, which friend Dan
want to pay for the meeting, as it isn’t yielding anything may decrease progression of the disease and help
for you. Be assertive about this; you shouldn’t have to pay improve the condition. Just send a self-addressed, Duchaine will
for his services if there’s no benefit to you. Then keep stamped envelope to me here at MM2K to request it.
shopping. If you have to interview ten doctors to find one commit to
who will work with you, you don’t want to have paid a fee
all ten times. You will find a good doctor who under-
stands that no one knows how to fix your disease, so every
doctor should be open to researching and experimenting.
Just keep looking! Don’t buy the status quo, “There’s no
good remedy for your
disease” bullshit.
Q I’m an HIV+ 40-year-old competitive
bodybuilder who weighs 205 lbs at 5’10’’
tall. I came back from an HIV-related ill-
ness where my weight plummeted to 145 lbs (skinny
me!), so I’m proud of the 9-month, 60-pound bounce-
being our
‘special
senior
W h e r e t h e r e ’s a back I’ve made with proper nutrition and intelligent advisor’ and
(strong) will, there’s a training. People who see me are amazed and ask me if
way. I see it all the I’m using anabolic steroids, but I haven’t ever used
contribute
time. And there are them; I just have good genetics and a lot of determina-
plenty of compassion- tion. I am anxious to get back to the competition circuit
some of his
ate doctors out there, this spring (I came in second at the Northern California
too. Championships before I became HIV+ several years
‘secret Mr.
You should also ago—as I said, all natural). I’m writing to ask if maybe Olympia
know that I know a you can help me design an optimum steroid cycle, so I
doctor in Mexico who can maximize my lean muscle mass and actually win a steroid
is having great success contest sometime soon. Besides the fact that I believe
using growth hor- using steroids might help to stop the HIV from progress- tips’...”
mone (GH) with ing, because I’ve seen it do that for friends of mine, I
multiple sclerosis would like to achieve champion status and let everyone
patients. This seems know that an HIV diagnosis doesn’t mean you can’t live
to be, at least in part, because GH increases IGF-1, and life to the fullest.
IGF-1 is known to be involved in supporting the health
and growth of nerve tissue. MS is a degeneration of the
nervous system, so this makes sense. Check it out, and
ask whatever doctor you end up working with to consider
giving you the latitude to experiment with GH, perhaps
in combination with steroids like Deca Durabolin. The
GH may help reduce the nerve damage, and the steroids
may help improve immune metabolism as well as
decrease the progression of autoimmune diseases.
Good luck!
doctor that it’s a valid course of action. Any chance you Dr. X (I talk 300 miles a minute and sputter unusual
have a list of references I can pass his way? approaches to nutrition and anabolic steroid chemistry
like a popcorn popper spits out midnight snacks), I am
A I’ve written a nice, tidy list of references not a doctor, much less the ersatz “Celestial Editor” of
with comments included. Anyone who MM2K (see the contents page in the front of the maga-
has an immune disease—especially zine), who is probably having a great time in Heaven
Covers Home
with Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, and other immunosuppressive. Have you stumbled on to any
M E D I BOLICS interesting deceased people.
As to your request, with your doctor’s approval, I
research lately that supports this conclusion?
A
C O N T I N U E D
would welcome the challenge of helping you figure out I’ve had too many
the best methods to maximize your lean body mass for readers who have
“...testosterone the best immune health and, secondarily, helping you get been using testos-
contest ready. Based on our meeting here in Los Angeles terone therapy for AIDS who read
is not last week, I feel that it’s entirely possible for you to rock my “Anabolic Steroids and the
the boat at one of the bodybuilding shows. It’s especially Immune System” article in the
necessarily impressive that you came in second in a contest that is November 1995 issue of MM2K and
universally filled with chemically enhanced competitors, so I wonder got all freaked out and wrote me let-
how well you’ll do when you’re on the same playing field ters saying something like “now that
bad for (but legally, for medical reasons!). And I’m sure my friend we know testosterone is immunosup-
Dan Duchaine will commit to being our “special senior pressive...” as if I said that like it’s
immunity, advisor” and contribute some of his “secret Mr. Olympia some kind of scientific dogma.
steroid tips” to our project. I will report what happens Please don’t misunderstand the article. In the article, I
but the with Doug as the year progresses, so keep reading... showed that testosterone has the potential for immuno-
scientific suppression and that other steroids may be more desir-
literature
infers that
other
steroids, like
Q I am a Northern California physician who
is considering using anabolic steroids to
treat my AIDS patients. Recently, how-
ever, I read in one of your columns that testosterone is
able because of this. I also stated that some doctors are
getting good results with testosterone, and we need more
studies on this, so we can find out what’s really best. To
sum it up, testosterone is not necessarily universally bad
for immunity, but the scientific literature infers that other
steroids, like Deca, are better. So don’t freak out.
Deca, are Michael Mooney publishes a quarterly newsletter called Medibolics that focuses on medical and scientific research regarding therapeutic
applications of nutrients, anabolic hormones, nontoxic pharmaceuticals, and exercise. Medibolics’ featured and guest columnists include
better.” Nelson Vergel, the man who inherited Dr. Michael Dullnig’s research materials; Dr. Walter Jekot, the discoverer of anabolic steroid therapy
for AIDS; and Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, an expert on anabolic steroids and athletes. For a one-year subscription, send $15.00 to Medibolics,
P.O. Box #333, 836 N. La Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069. Fax (310) 659-1597.
Covers Home
Scientific
Avoid Fructose and
You May Feel Better!
Inquiries
B y A n t h o n y A l m a d a
HMB is Nothing
Like GHB ucts that have digestive enzymes “built in,”
the population
may be unable to
A First of all, forget the weight-
gainer powders. I recommend
that you use Phosphagain™ or
Phosphagain II™ instead. It’s likely that typical
weight-gainer powders promote fat storage equal
other carbohydrate) is used by the billions of
bacteria in your gut as a fuel, and when you eat
this sugar, the bacteria produce hydrogen (mea-
surable in the breath), methane (measurable, if
desired, at the end opposite from the mouth),
completely to any amount of lean mass gains, and the lean loose stools, and even diarrhea. A recent study
mass these weight gainers do promote is no found that honey (1.5-3 Tbs), which is both
absorb greater than what you would get from taking a rich in fructose (30%-40%) and has more fruc-
carbohydrate (glucose polymer) supplement. tose by weight than other sugars, made the sub-
fructose, and when Experimental and Applied Sciences (EAS) has jects expel hydrogen gas in the breath…and
funded two well-controlled university studies loose stools from you know where. One subject
you don’t which support this. from each group (1.5 Tbs or 3 Tbs) experienced
Mega-calorie weight-gainer products are sup- the natural gas phenomena also. Who knows
absorb it, your posed to work like David Copperfield on stage how many would have responded this way if
in Las Vegas—like magic—but none of these proteins were mixed in?
lower intestine types of products have been shown in indepen- I mention the amount of fructose relative to
dent, controlled university other sugars (especially glucose) since glucose
becomes a tests to support the manufac- boosts the absorption of fructose but only
turer’s claims. (Yes, I said when the amount of glucose consumed is
natural NONE.) greater than the amount of fructose consumed.
If you examine a lot You won’t find this favorable ratio in a lot of
gas of the protein/carb weight-gainer/optimizer/muscle drink prod-
combo powders on ucts unless you add a couple of BIG scoops of
refinery...” the market and a lot of pure glucose. And very few products use pure
the “muscle drinks” found glucose in their formulations.
in the fridge in your gym, When EAS formulated Phosphagain and
you’ll find that fructose is Myoplex Plus™, we took all of this into consid-
one of the first ingredients. eration. There is no free fructose in these prod-
Some products use NutraSweet ucts, and we even substituted some pure glu-
(aspartame), Acesulfame-K, or cose for maltodextrin in Phosphagain II. I can’t
both instead of fructose. A lot of guarantee that no one will experience gas. (I
my gym pals used to mix their personally prefer using 6-12 ounces of fresh
powders with apple juice or orange or tangerine juice in my blender with
some other juice, but a few Phosphagain II and Myoplex Plus, and if I have
hours later, they developed 2 or more of these drinks a day, I get a little
antisocial intestinal symp- antisocial—I guess that’s why I don’t have a
toms which led to them girlfriend…) As for juices, try to avoid apple
being kicked out of the juice (especially the filtered, clear kind), and
house by their girlfriends. lean more towards grape, orange, or tangerine
Even after using the prod- juices. Apple juice, in addition to having a
Covers Home
“...GHB and
higher fructose to glucose ratio, also contains a sugar
alcohol called sorbitol (used as a sweetener for many
chewing gum products), which is totally non-
absorbable and is a high-risk diarrhea/gas producer
when more than minimal amounts are consumed.
Q I just read an article that claimed HMB™
(hydroxy methylbutyrate) was similar to
GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) in how it
works. I’ve never heard about HMB inducing sleep, and
Bottom Line: I know it’s biased, but I recommend I’ve never experienced increased strength and mass
HMB, both
designed by
nature...
that you use Phosphagain/Phosphagain II if you’re when I used GHB. Are they really similar in how they appear to
trying to pack on lean (nonfat) mass. If you’re looking work?
for a great protein supplement to complement work in
Phosphagain (or one that’s good by itself ), try
Myoplex Plus. Both are formulated without fructose
(and taste good enough so you actually look forward
to your next serving). If you’re loyal to your favorite
brand, select a product that doesn’t contain added
A The last name of each molecule is
butyrate, and the H in each refers to a
hydroxy chemical group included in the
structure. However, they come from totally different
metabolic origins and, based on the research that has
different
compart-
fructose. If you mix any of your powders with any ments—GHB
been done to date, share nothing besides structural sim-
juices, try a no-fructose beverage or a juice with a
ilarities.
higher glucose to fructose ratio (like orange or grape).
The design of new drugs often utilizes a “tech-
in the
Try a small amount of juice
to begin with, say four nique” called Quantitative Structure Activity brain and
ounces, and slowly experi- Relationship (QSAR) analysis. Let’s say a drug com-
ment to find your toler- pany was attempting to design a better form of oxan- HMB likely
ance—you’ll know when drolone (formerly called Anavar, now called
you’ve reached it when Oxandrin). They would examine the molecular in skeletal
you scare away your girl- structure of this “liver safe” anabolic and then make
friend or training partners. slight “tweaks” to the structure of the parent mole- muscle.”
cule (oxandrolone) and hopefully, abracadabra, come
up with oxandrolyne, which is very similar to the first
generation. But for GHB and HMB, both designed
by nature, they appear to work in different compart-
ments—GHB in the brain and HMB likely in skele-
tal muscle.
Some researchers claim GHB works as an ana-
bolic/lipid-oxidizing agent, primarily through the
release of growth hormone. Bear in mind that no
studies have ever shown this to occur when GHB was
taken orally. Only one study, using 2.5 grams intra-
venously, indicated a GH-releasing effect. Because
GHB can be a whole-body anesthetic (and knock
you out for several hours with a sufficient dose), it
produces the onset of sleep. This is likely the mecha-
nism behind its GH-releasing effect, simply through
inducing a state of sleep. The GHB study I mentioned
above resulted in nap time for the subjects shortly
after they got the GHB injection. GHB is kind of
familiar to me, as I was heavily involved (behind the
scenes) in the scientific side of GHB
during the first several months it was
aggressively sold in the U.S. in 1989
and 1990.
Assuming that HMB and GHB
work similarly through “similar
chemistry” would also lead someone
to say that BHB (beta hydroxy
butyrate, a common metabolite with
both a hydroxy and butyrate finger-
print that accumulates in the blood
during ketogenic/low-carb diets)
should also have potent anabolic
effects and influence the release of
Covers Home
Scientific
C O
Inquiries
N T I N U E D
“Despite HMB
and GHB
sharing
chemical
finger-
prints, GHB
does not
appear to
hormones from the brain. This is another unsup- the studies on HMB and in the studies we’ve done on
share the ported assumption. As I wrote in an article in Muscle Phosphagain, the placebo or control groups also
Media 2000 about IGF-1 as the Ultimate Anabolic “gained” lean mass, but when the mathematically
lean mass [February 1996], ketogenic/low-carb diets have been inclined researchers opened up their laptop comput-
shown to actually reduce IGF-1 concentrations in ers and started calculating the truly significant versus
and insignificant increases in lean mass, we find they told
humans.
the control groups to come back after they’ve grown
ergogenic It’s still unknown how HMB exerts its anabolic
and the HMB (or Phosphagain) groups to get bigger
and ergogenic (strength-increasing) effects in
effects seen humans. (What’s equally, if not more, intriguing is clothing. In other words, the gains experienced by
how it may decrease fat mass.) The available evidence the control group were insignificant. Although statis-
with HMB points to a possible “shielding” effect of muscle cells tics can be used to support many untrue and invalid
following resistance training. Resistance training, “facts” and data, they are also absolutely necessary
when you do scientific research—to tease out the real
supplements especially negative/eccentric contractions and/or
from the unreal. If the changes in lean mass (or any
unaccustomed work (as for a beginner weight trainer
other measure) are not statistically significant (as seen
in both or someone who has taken a couple months off ) can
in the placebo/control groups in these studies), then
cause fluid retention and contribute to activating
untrained muscle proteolysis and muscle soreness. Since HMB there are no changes at all. Let it rest.
concentrations in muscle itself are very small, it
and trained could work through altering signals between muscle Bottom Line: Despite HMB and GHB sharing
cells and the hormones communicating with muscle. chemical fingerprints, GHB does not appear to share
individuals.” Alternatively, since it’s a “downstream” metabolite of the lean mass and ergogenic effects seen with HMB
L-leucine and KIC (both shown to influence muscle- supplements in both untrained and trained individu-
protein turnover but never shown to influence lean als. (Since nobody has done a study with GHB look-
mass and strength), it could alter the disposal of its ing at its effects on lean mass and strength, no one
two biochemical parents in ways much more power- can really make a comparison.) Side note: one obser-
ful than they do themselves. My guess, with no data vation study reported that people lost weight after
to prove it, is that HMB influences a certain aspect long-term consumption of GHB once or twice
of muscle-protein breakdown called ubiquitin tag- nightly for a sleep disorder called narcolepsy. Similar
ging. I’m still staying up late at night wondering how chemistry does not usually mean similar action in the
and why HMB affects bodyfat. world of human biochemicals and metabolites. What
The excitement (and criticism) over HMB is con- would the world be like if estrogens (with similar
tinuing to mount like a tidal wave. One facet of the chemistry to testosterone) were muscle anabolic and
HMB story that has been picked apart concerns the ergogenic? If creatinine had creatine-like effects?
studies that have shown increases in lean mass. The However, similar chemistry in the world of synthetic
guys getting placebos also gained lean mass. agents/drugs often does mean similar action, giving
Remember, researchers, who are into statistics, only birth to the exciting, fast-paced, and potentially
look at certain kinds of statistics—significant ones. In lucrative life of the designer drug chemist…
Covers Home
Covers Home
It
would be
every body-
builder’s dream
come true
(mine included) if
we could make
“steroid-like”
gains in muscle
size and strength
by using com-
pounds that were
legal, safe, and
economical.
Years ago, this might
have seemed impossible,
but recent discoveries in nutri-
tional and biochemical science
have forced even our beloved
“Steroid Guru” Dan Duchaine to
believe otherwise.
New scientific breakthroughs in
supplementation have led to phe-
nomenal new supplements like
creatine monohydrate (the most
awesome bodybuilding supple-
ment I’ve ever used) and HMB (a
new supplement that preliminary data from two
separate double-blind, placebo-controlled studies
show increases size and muscle strength) and
CLA (a new growth factor which is catching on
like wildfire). These new discoveries, that may
allow bodybuilders to get significantly better
results, faster, from their weight-training work-
outs, could be just the “tip of the iceberg.” That
is, it’s very likely that numerous other com-
pounds exist in nature that can be taken in the
form of “dietary supplements” to produce a pro-
found impact on the body’s ability to gain new
muscle tissue and/or burn fat.
Since we started Muscle Media 2000, we’ve
been on the forefront of this area of “bodybuild-
ing science,” and we’ll be the leaders and trend-
setters in this area for a long time to come.
In this exciting article, Dan Duchaine explains
how a new “supplement” (which is coming soon)
may take us even closer to our dream of making
“drug-like” gains, drug-free!
—Bill Phillips
Covers Home
By Dan Duchaine
Estrogen In
declining testosterone secretion that occurs from middle age onward. This can
all be done without drugs or doctor’s visits. Once a steroid user masters this Men
information, the choice of ideal steroids along Estrogen is the so-called “female” hor-
with a new method of tapering off will mone, and it’s essential for a woman’s sex-
be blindingly clear, so the body’s ual development. Men do produce estrogen,
but obviously, not as much, even if some do
own testosterone secretion will
look damn fine in a dress. Half of the
rapidly resume. Don’t skip small amount of estrogen in the
this article. And after male body is produced
you’ve read it, in the testicles.
The other half
is produced in
other parts of
the body,
mostly in
muscle
Covers Home
LH Leydig T
Cells Inhibin
C T
FSH
Tubules
Sperm
Testis
(up to 30%) and fat (up to 15%). The percentage of
fat from estrogen climbs from middle age onward. The Hypothalamus-
Virtually all estrogen in men is made from testosterone
converted with enzymes generically named “aromatases.” Pituitary-Gonadal
(And no, they don’t have a bewitching aroma.) Even the
estrogen in the testicles is formed from testosterone in the Axis (HPGA)
Leydig cells that is converted in the nearby Sertoli (sperm-pro- To illustrate how testosterone is produced in the
ducing) cells. Other tissues also have aromatase: the most impor- male body, let’s work from the bottom (well, techni-
tant is the hypothalamus area in the brain. cally, the middle) to the top. The gonads have two
Most men don’t worry about estrogen in their bodies simply major types of cells. The Leydig cells produce
because of ignorance of the estrogenic hormonal state. However, up to testosterone, and the Sertoli cells produce
50% of all adolescent boys experience transitory swelling of the breast sperm, estrogen (by converting testosterone),
area (studs with buds) from the sudden spurt of testosterone (and sub- and the androgen-binding proteins (also called
sequent conversion). Being a boy with fun bags and flashing them in “globules”) that latch onto testosterone and
the high-school gym locker room is not a macho nor fun thing to have keep it in a neutral state in the blood.
happen. Later in life, some men might recognize that something is The production of these substances is con-
amiss, when in old age the chest area becomes female-like (oh no, not trolled by two hormones further upstream—
again). And elevated estrogen in old age will cause an increase of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulat-
androgen steroid receptors in the prostate, causing hypertrophy and ing hormone (FSH). Both hormones are produced
urine leakage, which is why some old men never wear light-colored by the pituitary gland, the pea-sized dynamo at
pants. the base of the brain that spews forth a variety of
Steroid-using athletes will recite a litany of estrogenic evils: regulatory hormones. The pituitary gland also
gynecomastia (swelling of the male breast tissue), water retention, needs some kind of stimulus that will modulate
fat accumulation, and an inclination to buy high-heeled cowboy both the LH and FSH levels. This action is
boots and French thong underwear. In this case, avoiding or min- achieved by yet another hormone: gonadotropin-
imizing estrogen buildup from an abundance of exogenous releasing hormone (GnRH, also called LHRH).
steroids which convert (with aromatase) to estrogen is thought to This GnRH is produced by neurons (nerve cells) in
be mostly a (damn embarrassing) cosmetic side effect issue— the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which
unless you like being one of those chix with stix. But now we’re is situated just above the pituitary. So the real com-
at the key concept of this article: estrogen in the male body reg- mand center, the final area that controls testosterone
ulates natural testosterone production. It’s always there in your production, is the hypothalamus.
body, even if you’ve never thrown a hissy fit. If a man can inter- There must also be some hormone that causes the
fere with the aromatase by impairing the enzyme, natural hypothalamus to sense the amount of testosterone in
testosterone is elevated, and you can ditch the ice cube on the the body. This mechanism not only maintains natural
nipple trick when you take your shirt off. testosterone production, it also down-regulates the
Covers Home
production of GnRH, LH, and FSH This one fact, that estrogen levels influence natural
(and ultimately natural testosterone) testosterone, has very broad practical applications. If I
when anabolic steroids are intro- could have minimized estrogen during puberty, I would
duced into the body. When a steroid user complains that his be a vastly different-looking person, not to mention that
gonads are the size of grapes and that his testosterone level has I could have avoided all the “Nice jugs, bro” comments
a minus sign on the blood test, the reason is that the stimulat- I got in junior high.
ing hormones (LH and FSH) aren’t being secreted by the pitu-
itary.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), one of the female
What This Means
Let’s begin with puberty. During the teen years, girls
hormones secreted during pregnancy, mimics the actions of reach their full heights faster than boys but usually end up
LH and FSH and can be used to jump start the gonads’ Ley- being shorter in stature. The culprit is estrogen since this
dig cells into producing testosterone. The use of HCG is only is the hormone that closes the epiphyses [the “growth
a short-term solution, as this hormone does nothing to plates” of bones] of the long bones, ceasing height growth.
increase the secretion of natural LH and FSH nor GnRH. As Boys reach their full heights much later simply because the
a matter of fact, the better the response of the Leydig cells amount of systemic estrogen is vastly lessened, and it takes
to HCG, the more the hypothalamus will down-regulate more years to accumulate the estrogen for total bone clo-
GnRH, LH, and FSH because of the increased estrogen. For sure. Remember, the cause of estrogen in males, unlike
years, virtually all steroid-using athletes realized that extra females, is the aromatase enzyme. So if aromatase is inhib-
testosterone (and its derivatives) “shut down” the natural ited, less estrogen will be in the metabolism, and long bone
testosterone production in the body. closure will be delayed. On another front, estrogen blockage
Some individuals in the steroid field recognized that in adolescent women (by a combination of enzyme-blocking
GnRH from the hypothalamus was the instigator of the and anti-estrogens) would also cause greater height, but this
testosterone regulation. Many of us just assumed it was more-moral-than-medical discussion is not the subject at
the actual testosterone that was sensed in the brain. But I hand.
recently learned something (from my brilliant chemist Keep in mind that even though the initial high testosterone
friend Patrick Arnold) that felt like a bomb going off in levels of puberty eventually lessen, the conversion of testos-
my head: the hypothalamus does not “sense” testos- terone into estrogen from aromatase is always happening. The
terone in modulating GnRH secretion! It senses estro- amount and activity of the various aromatases will determine
gen, and this estrogen is produced in the hypothalamus where the natural testosterone level is. By interfering with the
with aromatase! Are you beginning to see the overall aromatases in the body with exogenous compounds, natural
picture? Estrogen levels in the body control GnRH, testosterone (as measured in the blood) can be increased by up
LH, FSH, and finally testosterone. When testosterone to 30%! And since this testosterone boost is done within the
levels climb, more estrogen is produced from the body and doesn’t upset the circadian rhythms (which are tied to
enzyme conversion. The higher estrogen will make cortisol levels), the usual androgen receptor down-regulation
the hypothalamus attenuate GnRH. Eventually, when won’t occur. And the testicles won’t shrink—just the opposite in
testosterone levels decline, estrogen will also; hence, fact! You get the full course: meat and potatoes. So now that I’ve
all the stimulating hormones will rise in response. tantalized you with the possibility of increasing your size and
This whole process is strength naturally with no side effects, I know what you’re think-
called a feedback ing: “How are you gonna deliver the goods, so I can do it?”
loop of the
HPGA. The Options
Teslac (testolactone) is a prescription oral medication made by Bris-
tol-Meyers. This is considered to be an anabolic steroid (and hence a
Schedule III DEA classification) even though testolactone is
derived from fermented progesterone and has no direct ana-
bolic action at the androgen receptor. The minimum
dosage (for women) is 250 mg a day. This makes
it pricey as the 50-mg tablets retail at about $5
each. Teslac’s action is to block the aro-
matase at the androgen receptor.
The research has reported that
use of Teslac causes a
testosterone eleva-
tion. So now
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you know why this is, as, obviously, the reduction of estrogen “fools” the hypo- shrinkage, is a very real problem that’s been
thalamus into secreting more GnRH. Between the cost and the hard-to-get pre- frustrating to rectify. Use of HCG will briefly
scription, Teslac is not a practical solution. elevate testosterone, but it does nothing to
Cytadren (aminoglutethimide) is a prescription oral medication made combat the accompanying estrogen. In scien-
by Ciba. This drug broadly blocks the various enzymes (including aro- tific literature, some individuals were shown to
matase) that convert cholesterol to pregnenolone, which is needed for be unresponsive to HCG, but they did resume
synthesis of aldosterone, cortisol, and estrogen. This is the anti-cortisol testosterone secretion with the oral fertility drug
indicated for Cushing’s Syndrome, but it’s been troublesome in the Clomid (clomiphene). The reason is obvious: Clo-
performance-enhancement area. In its favor, Cytadren is not con- mid has the dual function of mimicking LH and act-
trolled by the DEA, so elaborate paperwork is not needed for a pre- ing as an anti-estrogen.
scription from a doctor. But, good luck in finding a doctor who will If a steroid user wishes to completely avoid the
uncap his pen and write a ’script for this seemingly frivolous use gonadal shrinkage and lowered testosterone, the only
of a prescription drug. Cytadren is still viable because the drug solution is to pick anabolic steroids that will not con-
isn’t terribly expensive. It costs about $50 for a bottle of one vert to estrogen. Accompany this with use of Flavone X
hundred 250-mg tablets. And the anti-aromatase effects happen and the new breed of steroid user will maintain full
at a very low dosage, 250 mg, which is much less than the rec- gonadal function during and after steroid use. For those
ommended 2-gram daily dosage for cortisol reduction. So who insist on using the “big gun” anabolics for maximal
Cytadren is cost-effective. But why use a prescription drug effect, a combination of Flavone X and Nolvadex will
when there’s something just as effective which may soon be vastly reduce withdrawal symptoms when steroid use has
available over the counter in health-food stores? ceased. One of the permanent side effects of chronic steroid
Flavone X (because of a nondisclosure contract, I can’t use is end-organ failure. The testicles have remained inactive
tell you the exact name of this naturally occurring com- and shrunken for so long that even after ceasing steroid use,
pound) may be the answer. Flavones are trace com- normal testosterone function is never reestablished, and
pounds in plants. Many of them have drug-like activity. gonadal size isn’t either. Minimizing estrogen will completely
Some act like antibiotics or antioxidants. One particu- eliminate this problem.
lar isoflavone is patented as an anabolic drug! Flavone I’ve mentioned before that I thought there was no ideal way of
X, in amounts of 3 grams a day, will inhibit aro- tapering off steroids in any logical manner. I even conjectured that
matases, and most men will experience an increase the whole concept of tapering was suspect. It’s now apparent that if
of at least 20% over normal testosterone levels. the steroid user is using numerous types of anabolics, the estrogen-
You’ll see this flavone on the market within a converting ones should be stopped first (and rapidly). In this manner,
year, introduced by two companies. I have a feel- systemic estrogen is lowered, and testicular function is restored, so
ing, although I haven’t done the analysis, that when the final nonaromatizing steroids (most are orals) are tapered,
this flavone, or one of its variants, is the active natural testosterone goes back to near normal.
ingredient in the various herbal libido-boosters I should point out that all estrogen in the male body cannot be con-
like Endo-Pro and Tribestan. (Oh swell, now trolled with anti-aromatases. Many environmental estrogenic-like com-
we’re gonna see Twin Lab’s Dick Fuel.) pounds (mostly from pesticides) make it into the body from water and
Remember, many times scientists simply food and can only be eliminated with estrogen antagonists (like
report an effect and rarely speculate as to why Nolvadex), which block the estrogen receptor. This just-as-
the effect happens. Teslac is a perfect example of important issue will be addressed at another time.
this. I estimate that only a handful of researchers have Flavone X, HMB, and CLA: all in all, 1996 is becom-
figured out how Teslac causes testosterone elevation. ing an extraordinary year in legal performance
enhancement!
Other Applications
The control of natural testosterone from the hypothalamic sensing
of estrogen will, in the future, influence the choice of anabolic steroids
that athletes use. Simply put, the greater the ability of the steroid to
convert to estrogen, the greater the down-regulation of natural
testosterone. Unfortunately, the most potent anabolic
steroids (testosterone, nandrolone, oxymesterone)
also have a high ability to convert to estrogen.
That’s no great loss to the athlete who is
continually on the drugs, but for the
occasional steroid user, the lack
of testosterone during
(and after) steroid
use, along with
testicular
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BUilt
LiKE a
BRicK
hOUse
—Developing a This concept was very fundamental
to the old-time greats in bodybuild-
Solid Strength ing. Many also became world-caliber
Olympic weightlifters as a result of
their strength work. All took pride in
Foundation being brutally strong in one or more
strength feats—their muscles were
functional, not just facades. If they
looked powerful, they wanted to be able
W
to back it up in the gym. Greats like
hile it may seem a bit strange to the John Grimek, Bill Pearl, Val Vasilef,
modern bodybuilder, old-time body- Vern Weaver, Sergio Oliva, Joe Abbenda,
builders competed in Olympic weight- and Bob Gajda were very competitive
lifting meets—they had to. The AAU in the Olympic lifts. Grimek was an
(Amateur Athletic Union) controlled Olympian, and Sergio had a good shot
bodybuilding, and they awarded com- at the ’68 team, but he decided to put his
petitive bodybuilders five athletic full efforts into bodybuilding. Vern
By Bill Starr, points for participating in some outside Weaver power cleaned and jerked 370
sport. Since the bodybuilders, in the lbs during one afternoon competition
Strength and course of their training, did many of the and walked away with the physique title
exercises the Olympic lifters did any- that night.
Conditioning way, it was only logical that they com- When the Weiders took control of
pete in the Olympic meets held in con- bodybuilding, the athletic points were
Coach at junction with the bodybuilding shows. dropped. It was probably a good idea,
It also served the purpose of letting the though, because it stopped the ridicu-
Johns Hopkins judges, who were also the lifting judges, lous dog and pony show the physique
see them on stage nine different times. men had to go through. Unfortunately,
University And lifting heavy weights in competi- something was lost in the process. Over
tion allowed competitors to show some time, many stopped doing heavy pulls
muscles that couldn’t be highlighted as or squats, substituting machines or
well during a simple posing routine. exercises done with lighter weights.
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JorGe BeNtaCourt
“…building
WaDe BRowN
an impressive
physique is
much like
building a
house. The
very first step
is to establish
a solid
foundation.”
Photo: Alex Ardenti
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why those baggy training pants are so popular. As soon larger muscles. Once they’ve been worked, little more
as I see someone strutting around in a pair, I know for can be accomplished by doing more exercises, so any
sure that I’m not going to see the wearer of said clown auxiliary work should be limited to the smaller groups
pants in the squat rack. And they all seem to share that for a few sets of higher reps.
identical humpbacked posture, which tells me they The best program for a strength cycle utilizes a three-
haven’t pulled anything heavier than another attachment day-a-week routine. This allows more rest time which
for the lat machine off the floor since joining the gym! translates to easier growth. The heavy, light, and
It’s been my experience that once a person really puts medium concept should be employed so the body can
his full effort into a pure strength routine, he enjoys it. recover better. Most discover that the three-day-a-week
Nothing is more addictive to the male animal than gain- schedule works nicely for a change, especially during
ing strength. It’s basic to his ego. I’ve also found that those hectic times of the year. The energy conserved
whenever a person tries some heavy training for the first from dropping a training day from the conventional
time, much to his delight, he discovers that he has a nat- every-other-day workout also allows the bodybuilder to
ural talent for at least one of the lifts. I worked with sev- gain strength.
eral tall, lean bodybuilders one summer, and they all had Each workout will find the bodybuilder doing one
difficulty squatting and benching. But when I taught core exercise for each of the three major muscle groups:
them how to deadlift, they were amazed. They were out- shoulder girdle (shoulders and chest), back, and legs.
lifting everyone in the gym within three weeks. Sud- The established set and rep rule for gaining strength is
denly, they no longer thought of themselves as weak, four to six sets of four to six reps. For the sake of sim-
and their success in the deadlift inspired them to work plicity, I use five sets of five reps. After the core exer-
much harder on the other two movements. Once they cises have been completed, additional time can be spent
packed on 20 pounds, everything improved remarkably. working smaller groups such as the biceps, triceps, and
Their motivation came from their unexpected accom- calves, but these routines should be scaled down. Two
plishments in the deadlift. sets of 20 reps is sufficient because these muscles have
Often, when I suggest to people that they could bene- already been stimulated with the heavy movements.
fit from a strength cycle, they reply that they just don’t Variety can be built into the program quite easily
have that much time to train. Actually, strength training because there are many excellent exercises to choose
takes less time because it’s condensed training. The from. For the legs, nothing beats full squats, but the
intensity is higher, and the weights are heavier, but the lunge and leg press can be used for your light days.
time spent in the gym is shorter. The emphasis is on the When selecting exercises for the back, be sure to include
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BUilt exercises for the upper, middle, tines on the flat bench that require lots of sets with heavy
LiKE a and lower portions of the back.
This will ensure proportionate
weights. Then they proceed to do the same thing on the
incline. They never make any gains because they’re over-
BRicK development. The all-important working their shoulder girdles. But they could do heavy
Shawn Phillips
In
Bodybuilding,
Timing Is
Everything
By T.C. Luoma
ow
It’s the sound of a clock ticking off sec-
in this way may serve to form nonessential amino
onds. Whether or not there’s actually a clock
acids needed for additional protein synthesis.
nearby is irrelevant. Time slips away whether we notice
Furthermore, these surplus branched chains
it or not, and despite the protests of some philosophers,
might inhibit glutamine from leeching out of
time is not simply an invention of man. Every living thing
the muscle cells, and this high level of intra-
has its own internal clock, humans included. Barring the
cellular glutamine might then stimulate
interruption of a man-made alarm clock, we sleep until our
even more muscle protein synthesis.
internal clocks tell us to rise. Barring illness or injury, our life
All of this muscle protein synthesis is
spans are programmed. Many cells divide a preordained number
A
mediated by insulin, and insulin is ini-
of times. Some, like red blood cells, live almost exactly 120
tially secreted in response to the influx
days. Glands release hormones in a pulsatile fashion throughout
of amino acids (and/or glucose) taken
the day for very specific amounts of time. Every function is care-
in with the last meal. The branched
fully orchestrated, and under normal circumstances, the body func-
chains, along with the amino acid argi-
tions—if you’ll excuse the expression—like a Swiss watch.
Time To Gr
nine, are the most effective in elicit-
The trouble is, bodybuilders aren’t content to let their “watches”
ing this response. Conversely, the
function as nature intended. They tinker here, and they tinker there in
released insulin enhances the trans-
an effort to speed up the watch or even slow it down. But, when we
port of branched chains, along with
try to add muscle to our frames, the carefully orchestrated calendar of
glutamine, into the cell. Branched
the body shatters and splinters, and unless you know what “watch”
chains are, in effect, the customers
springs to tighten, knobs to twirl, or screws to turn, your efforts to add
that call the cab, insulin, to carry
muscle disappear in a quick minute.
them to their destination, the mus-
cle cells.
It’s All in the Timing Sounds good so far, right? If
Muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein degradation exist in a only the body were able to keep up
delicate balance. If you can swing the pendulum of muscle protein syn- that positive balance of amino-acid
thesis to the plus side, you add more muscle and win. If, however, mus- influx! Unfortunately, this anabolic
cle protein degradation ends up ahead of muscle protein synthesis, your state is only temporary. Three or
amount of muscle tissue stays the same or, worse yet, decreases, and four hours after your last protein
you lose. meal, your body enters what is
To a large extent, whether you win or lose depends on levels of hor- known as the post-absorptive
mones like cortisol and growth hormone. These chemicals determine state—insulin levels decline; the net
which way your protein ball bounces. However, all factors can be influx of amino acids into muscle is
influenced by what and when you eat. That’s what this article is about. reversed; and glycogen reserves are
drawn upon to make sure blood
sugar levels remain constant. As this
What Happens to Muscle at Night post-absorptive state continues, the
Let’s assume that you don’t workout—you’re just a regular Joe. body slips into a catabolic state, and
You eat your last meal at about 6 p.m., watch Seinfeld, and then hit the skeletal muscle, instead of taking
the sack. By the time you, our test subject, have gone to bed, in amino acids, starts to output them,
you’re still experiencing an influx of amino acids into your body the largest portion coming from the
from the digestion of your last meal, and this results in a surge of release of glutamine. In fact, muscle pro-
liver and muscle protein synthesis (just enough to make up for tein represents the largest reserve from
the amount that’s degraded naturally throughout the day).
o
Branched chains are responsible for between Remember, the preceding scenario involves the
50% and 90% of the muscle amino-acid uptake average guy who doesn’t work out. When you’re a
in the 3 hours following a protein meal. As grunting-by-day, iron-thrusting bodybuilder, the prospects
more and more branched chains enter the for swinging the protein synthesis pendulum to the posi-
T
muscle, they finally reach a point of satu- tive side during sleep are even more grim.
ration in the muscle tissue, and a sur- Muscle growth occurs because of net protein synthesis, i.e.,
plus of them floats around the blood- the difference between protein synthesis and degradation. For
i
e
w A Time
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through work, and consequently, the amino acids that flow don’t have the same type of training routines as
into his muscle cells, provided he’s eaten properly, will bodybuilders, they certainly push themselves to
just replace those that were degraded or lost through nor- the limit and, in the course of training, damage a
mal, everyday living. In the bodybuilder, however, muscle lot of muscle cells. They also have higher-than-
T
degradation through the mechanical damage induced by lift- average protein needs.
oG
ing weights is a normal occurrence. In one study, myofibrillar The aforementioned study involved 10 ath-
(muscle cell) disruption was seen in as many as 80% of the letes, all between 20 and 26 years of age. I don’t
r
fibers examined with electron microscopy. think the exact specifics of the study are impor-
ow
A We all know (or suspect) that an additional amount of protein is tant to this article; suffice it to say that they were
T needed to repair all of this muscle cell degradation. However, more separated into two groups, and one group trained
important than the amount of protein (although that’s certainly impor- with low intensity while the other group pretty
tant) is the timing of the protein intake. Protein ingestion must coincide much busted their asses. What they found was a
with maximal stimulation of muscle protein synthesis, like after insulin significantly altered hormonal profile. The
secretion. In other words, after an insulin response is elicited, there must higher-intensity group showed lower levels of
be protein present so that it can be ferried to the muscle cells, so growth GH, higher levels of cortisol, and to make matters
can occur. worse, a reduced anabolic response to the small
Okay, let’s recap what’s going on: we’ve established that sleep is in amount of GH that was released (see Figure 1).
one regard a mixed blessing; the first half is usually anabolic, but the (Curiously, testosterone levels were unaffected.)
second half is catabolic. This is compounded in the case of bodybuilders The researchers concluded that the reduced ratio
because they’ve caused themselves a lot of cellular damage that needs of GH to cortisol secretion during early sleep
extra protein to repair itself. Clearly, we need to do something to pro- “hints at [italics mine] reduced anabolic function
long the anabolic phase of sleep, along with providing the body with during sleep after intense exhausting exercise.”
adequate protein to repair itself. Unfortunately, there are other factors Hints at, my ass. That’s exactly what it showed.
involved. What’s more, the excess of cortisol experi-
enced by the test subjects (and bodybuilders, I’ll
bet) raises blood sugar and decreases sensitivity
The Hormonal Equation to insulin. This will lead to reduced utilization of
Under normal circumstances, sleep is characterized by specific pat- amino acids for the formation of protein (except
terns of hormonal secretion. Shortly after falling asleep, the pituitary in the liver, where amino acids will be processed
release of GH (growth hormone) increases dramatically. Conversely, as usual). The liver will kick out amino acids into
levels of cortisol, the bad ol’ catabolic hormone, decrease at the same the bloodstream, but because insulin sensitivity is
time GH levels go up. The GH response to growth-hormone-releasing reduced by cortisol, the amino acids won’t be
hormone (GnRH) is increased by sleep while the cortisol response to transported into muscle cells; thus, protein syn-
cortisol-releasing hormones is suppressed by sleep. This is in stark con- thesis will be further reduced.
trast to daytime conditions when GH and cortisol levels rise together in To recap things once more, intense exercise cre-
response to external stressors—each, in effect, checking each other. ates an almost no-win situation in the body. With
All of this seems to change when heavy workouts are thrown into the added protein needs and hormone levels that have
picture. Many studies have shown that exercise has no effect on night- gone haywire, drastic measures are needed to
time GH and cortisol release, but most of these studies are flawed. Most make sleep as regenerative as nature intended.
used a mix of trained and untrained athletes, female versus male, dif- Of course, what you do when you’re awake is
ferent training protocols, and varying exercise intensity. None used crucial, too.
bodybuilders, but one recent study used triathletes.1 Although triathletes
Oh, And Let’s Not Forget
Figure 1
Recovery Time, Either
Nighttime Production of GH and
Past studies have shown that muscle protein
Cortisol After Intense Exercise synthesis is elevated in humans by 50% four
hours after a bout of heavy resistance training. A
full 24 hours later, the percentage can rise to
Levels 109%. These numbers were arrived at by using
Of
GH
experienced lifters and weightlifting protocols
And that were realistic (4 sets of single-arm biceps
Cortisol curls, concentration curls, and preacher curls at
80% of 1-rep maximums for a total of 12 sets;
each set was done to muscular failure with a 3 or
GH 4-minute rest period in between).2
Cortisol Subsequent research, using the same weight-
training protocol, found that muscle protein syn-
thesis returned to 14% of normal 36 hours after
training, which, in the eyes of a scientist, is an
0 1 2 3 4
insignificant difference.2 In other words, 14% of
Hours Of Sleep
normal is as good or nearly as good as normal.
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Now, this elevated muscle protein synthesis doesn’t necessarily mean cle protein you need for growth and repair.
that growth took place for more than 30 hours—the damage done to the This compounds itself if your last meal was at
muscle fibers has to be taken into consideration. Although synthesis 6 p.m.
was well above normal, a good portion was directed at repair and not
just growth. Otherwise, every workout would probably result in an 2. Strenuous workouts compound the prob-
addition of a quarter-inch of muscle. lem. Damaged muscles need more protein and
The researchers thought this information was important because log- more insulin to “carry” that protein to the
ically, a strength athlete would get the most bang for his buck if he muscle cells.
waited until the muscle protein synthesis, stimulated by the previous
workout, had returned to the pre-training rate. If what they found stands 3. Strenuous workouts also cause a decrease
up to the tests of time, muscle groups shouldn’t in GH levels and increase in cortisol levels,
be worked again until at least 36 hours making it even harder to build muscle.
after the previous workout.
By now, you may be asking 4. Muscle protein synthesis is elevated for a
yourself what this information relatively long time after a workout, prov-
on muscle recovery rates has ing that additional protein is imperative.
to do with sleep and hor-
mone levels. All of this has A Solution?
to do with timing. Here are
the problems faced by the It all comes down to timing. By look-
bodybuilder: ing at the “problems,” a pattern starts to
emerge. We need more protein after a
1. Going to sleep means workout because muscle protein syn-
not eating, and not eating thesis accelerates dramatically, begin-
means that the body “runs ning right after a workout and for
out” of protein and insulin roughly 24 to 30 hours after a workout
about halfway through (when it appears to start to go back to “nor-
the night, so you, in mal”). Therefore, it’s crucial to keep protein
levels high during this time—eat some pro-
effect, stop synthe-
tein every two or three hours—particularly
sizing the mus-
during this recovery phase. If you’re a
bodybuilder who works out on a two-
day-on, one-day-off or even a one-
day-on, one-day-off schedule, your
protein intake should be strict
and regimented.
The sleep of a body-
builder is plagued by
opposing hormones
and the eventual
depletion of protein
“...studies have and insulin. Eating a
shown that meal at 6 p.m. and
not eating again until breakfast is a mistake.
muscle protein Therefore, the last thing you should do at night,
synthesis is before you say your prayers, is slug down a pro-
tein drink. This will help keep (notice I didn’t
elevated in say “fix”) protein levels high for at least the first
humans by 50% half of nighttime sleep. If your drink has a mix-
ture of simple and complex carbs in it, all the
four hours after better. (It would probably be ideal if you got up
a bout of heavy in the middle of the night for another protein
meal, but this has to fall into the category of
resistance fanaticism or plain pushing it too far.) Adding a
little flax oil or borage oil would be a good idea,
training. A full too, to slow the absorption of the nutrients into
24 hours later, the bloodstream and ensure an even more regu-
lated flow of amino acids into the bloodstream.
the percentage Eating some protein before bedtime can stim-
can rise to ulate hypothalamic growth-hormone releasing
factors—perhaps mediated by insulin release—
109%.” leading to increased GH release. This practice
will also help keep cortisol levels down.
w A Time
Covers Home
Although you may be worried that this practice will 20 to 30 grams of carbohydrates, and a tea-
add bodyfat, there’s little chance of that, as long as you spoon of borage or flax oil. (This step is partic-
don’t use your protein drink to wash down a couple of ularly important.)
chocolate donuts.
T
Another possible safety measure would be to take any of 3. Have another similar protein drink upon
oG
Lastly, the first thing you should do upon waking is eat pro- 4. Make sure you get at least 30 grams of pro-
A tein. Remember, under normal circumstances, your last meal was tein every 2 or 3 waking hours, especially dur-
Ti quite some time ago, and your body is probably digesting your ing the 0 to 30 hours after a workout (or per-
excess muscle tissue to sustain itself. petually if you work out every day or every
Again, here’s what I recommend: other day).
1. Take an anti-catabolic supplement at night (per- Perhaps the main message here is to copy the
haps CLA, HMB, or maybe even mela- body’s machine-like consistency. By feeding
tonin). the body at the most crucial times,
like clockwork, you can increase
2. Wash it down with a pro-
your chances of building
tein drink along with
some simple and com- muscle over the long
plex carbs immedi- run. And as the days
ately before going turn into months,
to bed—30 to 45 growth will fol-
grams of protein, low, right on
schedule.
References Cited
1 Kern, Werner, et al, “Hormonal Secretion During
Nighttime Sleep Indicating Stress of Daytime Exercise,”
Journal of Applied Physiology 79.5 (1995) :1461-1468.
INTERVIEW
PART
2
Anabolic Steroids in Europe
An Interview by T.C. Luoma
s a whole, Americans are rather provincial—we seriously, even investing considerable amounts of
A think we’re the best at everything, know every-
thing, and set the pace for the rest of the world while
money into bona-fide weight-training research. And,
since drugs are much more readily available in many
other countries, bless their hearts, are, well, kind of European countries, their knowledge of drugs sur-
primitive. This is particularly true of bodybuilding. passes ours, too.
Most of us assume the rest of the world still lifts con- To find out more about the European scene—particu-
crete-filled paint buckets and car axles. And the Euro- larly the drug scene—we made a few calls, checked a
peans? Well, they’ve evolved past the paint-bucket few contacts, and found Lazlo Hortobagyi, a former
stage, but not by much. I mean, aside from a few body- competitive bodybuilder from Budapest, Hungary. After
builders with funny names who had to come to the U.S. the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hortobagyi moved to Inns-
to get really big, who have they got with any notoriety? bruck, Austria, where he works as a personal trainer. It
Well, let me tell you, nothing could be further from was there that we contacted him. What ensued was a
the truth. Several European countries take training fascinating and eye-opening interview.
Covers Home
The bodybuilder would then follow with a six to eight-week course of HCG and
Clomid to boost his testosterone back up and would follow the sample pre-contest
cycle below. The 89-kg [196-lb] bodybuilder now, in fact, is a 97-kg [213-lb]
bodybuilder: he would compete at week number 12 of his cycle and would take
the next 8 weeks to come down:
THE SClENCE OF
REST lNTERVALS
The Best Ways To
Take It Easy For
Maximum
Growth!
By Charles Poliquin
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experienced bodybuilder
the
S p e c i a l A d v e r t i s e m e n t
by Bill Phillips
R i g h t toW a y
Lose Fat . .and Build a Lean, Toned, Sexy Body!
f guys are generally confused about how to build muscle, lose fat, and build a
I better body, most women are “confused times ten!” But there’s no reason to be
perplexed—there’s a right way for a woman to get in awesome shape—
a way that works… It’s called bodybuilding!
Muscle Media 2000 is a “bodybuild- involved in weight training. I’m certain petitive bodybuilders is Flex—virtually
ing” magazine. It’s a publication written the reason women are taking more inter- all of the other magazines primarily use
for those individuals who are extremely est in “bodybuilding” is because the pictures of drug-free female “body-
dedicated to building the best body they major muscle magazines have been run- builders.” (I mean, come on, what’s this
can! It’s a magazine about weight train- ning more and more photos of gals who whole women’s fitness thing? It’s drug-
ing, nutrition, supplementation, and have used “bodybuilder-like” exercise free women’s bodybuilding!)
other “tricks” that can help you build and nutrition programs to build some of I’m very glad things are starting to
muscle and lose fat. the most beautiful physiques in the change because I’m absolutely, posi-
The majority of our readers are men world! It just goes to show that a woman tively convinced any woman who wants
because the majority of those who can build a gorgeous, lean, and toned to get in shape—who wants to lose fat
“bodybuild” are guys. But over the past (but feminine) body by using weight- and build muscle tone—should be pat-
few months, I’ve noticed we’ve been training exercise. It looks like we might terning her fitness program after body-
getting more and more questions and finally be starting to break through that builders.
feedback from women, and we’ve been awful stigma about women and weight There is absolutely, positively no bet-
getting a lot of questions from guys training that emerged along with the use ter form of exercise in the world than
who’ve been looking to share their pas- of steroids by female bodybuilders. The weight training. Of course, any exercise
sion for bodybuilding with the women truth is, if women don’t use steroids, it’s (walking, using a HealthRider, pedaling
in their lives (wives, girlfriends, sisters, virtually impossible for them to build on a stationary bike, etc.) is better than
friends, etc.). “freakish” muscularity! nothing, but only weight training allows
I think this is great—I’m glad more About the only magazine that still you to “sculpt” your body. Unfortu-
women than ever before are getting runs photos of drugged-up female com- nately, women are usually led to believe
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Bodybuilding
Is In!
that aerobics are the best overall exercise for vinced that training with
them, but that simply isn’t true. (The women weights won’t turn her into
who do read Muscle Media 2000 and know some freakish-looking mus-
a thing or two about weight training cle monster (which just does
would definitely confirm this!) not happen without the use of
By the time most women are into their steroids), the next step is decid-
20’s (unless they have great genetics), ing exactly what type of weight-
they start to develop a “pear-like” shape; training program to follow.
that is, their hips get wider than their Unfortunately, this is an area
shoulders. Now, let’s say a woman goes where women also get bad advice—
on a “typical” diet where she does hours of they’re often told if they want to build
aerobic exercise and starves herself—the muscle “tone,” they should just use
best possible end result would be that she light weights and take it easy. That’s
would come out looking like a smaller pear! completely wrong! Effective weight
But, with weight training, women can firm and training, for a man or a woman, has to be
tone their bodies—they can build wider shoul- intense—it has to “overload” the muscle
ders, strong arms, and firm legs. fibers being trained. After the proper
And remember, when you train with weights “stimulus” is given, muscles will rebuild
properly, your body gains muscle, and your bigger and better than they were before (if
metabolic rate goes up, so you can eat more you feed the muscles properly and provide
without gaining fat! Studies also confirm that adequate time for recuperation).
weight training strengthens the heart, Not only is it true that “bodybuilding” is the
increases bone mass (which lowers a best way for women to build a firmer, more
woman’s risk of osteoporosis), lowers cho- toned body, I’m convinced it’s the best way to
lesterol (which decreases the chance of lose fat, too! Building muscle (through weight
heart disease), and improves your mood! training) addresses the “core” of the problem—
No kidding! Weight training does all of energy expenditure. When your body burns
this stuff and more! more calories than you eat, you lose fat—it’s
Once a woman becomes con- that simple.
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the
R i g h t toW a y
Lose Fat
the
R i g h t toW a y
Lose Fat
The Neo-Lean
Program was
designed to help
women
lose fat and build
muscle tone!
Rant
By Dan Duchaine
T hey used to
call him
Mister
Rubberdick because
he used to wear a
rubber dick in the
gym. Okay, maybe it
wasn’t rubber, but it
was some miracle
polymer. All I know
is that the thing
wasn’t real. But I’m
getting ahead of
myself.
Covers Home
I took Jessica, my book assistant, to which would make it five inches, but “Ah...yes, absolutely.” (Hey, never
her first bodybuilding contest. that’s probably stretching it a bit.” knock free advertising.)
“Where do they hide their equip- “Did your balls shrink when you “Will you show me yours some-
ment?” she asked. were on steroids?” time?”
“Uh, they pump up offstage in a little “Yeah, but they grew back in prison. “I’ll make a deal with you: you shave
room,” I answered. I’ve been off steroids for over six years your legs, then I’ll whip it out.”
“No, their penes.” now.” (Jessica absolutely refuses to shave her
“What’s a penes?” “Did you miss them?” legs.)
“It’s the plural of penis. You pay me “I do miss being strong like I was...” “Screw off.”
to proofread what you write, so I need “No, no, no, not the steroids. Your “Jess, you’re not supposed to end a
to know these things. Where are they? balls. Did it bother you that you were a sentence with a preposition.”
We just saw the teenage class, and all eunuch? I mean, didn’t any of your girl- “Gotcha.”
those boys had big bulges. So where do friends complain when they used to “Did you read John’s piece in
the men hide them?” grab for something that wasn’t there?” Muscular Development about women
“I’m not gonna ask why you needed “Can we change the subject?” and steroids?”
to use the word ‘penes.’ And they don’t “Face it. You were in denial. Hey, the “Yeah, what a jerk.”
hide the equipment. Most steroid users women are on. Is it my imagination, or “Why’s that?”
have small b...gonads. But they grow do some of them have penes, too?” “The first time I met John, I went to
back. Eventually.” “Jess, you know that steroid use in his house to pick up his manuscript to
“That still doesn’t explain why most women causes clitori enlargement.” edit. He’s got his Hot Skins shorty-
of the men up there have no... penises. “Clitorides is the plural. You usually shorts on. He’s got that meat and no
That’s the other plural. Is there a big tub use an ‘i’ when a word ends with ‘us,’ potatoes look: looks like he has a
of cold water out back that they all dunk platypus/platypi, but this is an excep- decent-sized penis but no balls. He’s
themselves in?” tion. And you use a soft ‘a’ if it ends in got acne on his back; his hair is totally
“Well, now that you mention it, they an ‘um.’ For example, all the men up gone. Who wears a hat in his own
all look kinda underhung compared to there have shrunken scrota. Didn’t you house? John’s a good-looking guy,
the teenagers. Maybe the boys have learn anything in English class?” but he was Mr. Puffy-Face that
more five-alpha reductase in their dicks “If I was perfect, then you’d be out of day—I’m not stupid. So when he
during adolescence. I think it’s the DHT a job correcting my stuff.” starts telling the world how women
that controls how big the penis is in the “‘Were’ perfect. How big does a cli- shouldn’t use male hormones and that
flaccid state. There was this under- toris get?” a large clitoris is gross, how would he
ground designer steroid that supposedly “It was so big that...” feel if his girlfriend kicked him out of
made your limp dick hang bigger. I used “Seriously.” bed and said, ‘That ’roid look is
some of it, and it worked. It was the “Biggest I’ve seen is about half the gross’?”
same size when it got hard, though, but length of my little finger.” “You know, Jessica, the ironic thing
it definitely fluffed it up during off-ver- “Lemme see your finger. You have is that I heard he likes Deca Durabolin
tical. Buttsie rubs that vet steroid really long fingers. Is it true that a and HCG. Both of which are not
Checque Drops onto his dick every day, man’s fingers are an indication of how male hormones. Nandrolone (Deca
and he swears it’s grown two inches, big his penis is?” Durabolin) is made in the placenta dur-
Covers Home
ing pregnancy. And HCG is from preg- She had to dry hump my thigh when I ran from the back of the gym to the front
nant women’s urine. flexed it to get off. I used to get this door. I was standing at the front desk,
“Personally, I’ve never had a prob- wicked cramp flexing my leg so hard, and Mister Rubberdick started fishing
lem with a large clitoris on a lover. so I’d have her change legs. I told you for his car keys that are hung on the key
Maybe I got used to it. There are bene- about her, the carrot girl.” rack at the front desk. And from all the
fits... it’s easier to find—easier to give “Contract, not flex. The same girl running, his extension had detached
them an orgasm. And I think John has who got a carrot stuck up her ass?” itself from his own penis, and it had
overblown the gynecological problems. “The same. It could’ve been worse. traveled down to the back of his leg.”
The way he makes it out, he almost rec- It could’ve been an eggplant. “Look at the posedown. The teenage
ommends a scuba suit and a snorkel for “BaaaaaaaaHaaaaaaaaHaaaaaaaaaa!” guy really is the only guy up there with
some sex acts. I never felt like I was “What’s so funny?” anything in his trunks. Do these body-
drowning. I mean, aesthetically, I’d “See that little guy over there in the builders really think women care about
rather deal with something smaller, but lycra. Wait, wait, he’s about to turn big arms?”
I’m not gonna be jumping out of bed, around...” “Did you see the thing in USA Today
running away from it. And frankly, not “Holy shit. That’s a big schlong! It about the kid who got sold to the crack
every female bodybuilder gets a big almost reaches his kneecap! It’s just too house? His mom owed the crack dealer
one, even when using steroids. big.” $1,000, so she sold her son to the crack
Sometimes just the opposite. I’ve been “I thought women liked big d... dealer. The kid lived at the crack house
with a tiny-little female bodybuilder penes.” and had to sell drugs, and get this: he
who never took a steroid in her life and “There’s nothing on me that that had to perform sex on women in the
only weighed 115 pounds, hardly any would fit into. The thing is so big, I’d house. The kid’s only 11. The crack
muscle on her, and she had the biggest have to throw it over my shoulder and dealer told the kid that if he didn’t per-
clitoris I’ve ever seen. Face it, the burp it like a baby.” form sex on the girls, he would with-
whole big clit thing is more a male cul- “Make believe it’s a harmonica. But hold food. Eventually, the police res-
tural problem. get this: it isn’t real. It’s a rubber dick. cued him.”
“If John doesn’t like the size of a The guy used to go to Gold’s in Venice. “Is the kid all right?”
woman’s genitalia, he should find He used to change into his Spandex “Shit yes, the kid had gained ten
another sex partner more to his liking. tights in the bathroom, not in the locker pounds.”
Because there are plenty of men, myself room. Then he’d walk around the gym
included, who don’t have a problem with this plastic pecker on. On one Pompous Asshole
with it. We don’t live in Africa, where hand, I didn’t want to stare, but on the or Genius Know-It-All?
one society allows cutting the thing off other, it was unavoidable. He walked Subjective, Objective... What’s
and stitching the vagina shut. Besides, around like it was on a leash. You the Difference?
much of the enlargement goes away wanna get up close? The damn thing
after steroid use. And the girls could has veins on it. I swear.” BODYOPUS, Dan Duchaine’s new
use Proscar and avoid the problem. I “How did you find out it was fake?” book, is coming soon! (Seriously…it is! I
knew only one girl who had a physical “His car alarm went off, and the front swear!) Watch for details on how to get a
problem being large. It was so sensitive desk announced the license plate num- copy of this fantastic new book in future
that regular intercourse was painful. ber over the PA. So Mister Rubberdick issues of Muscle Media 2000.
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IGF-1
Doesn’t
Work!
Covers Home
T
he biggest, most well-kept secret in bodybuilding is, drum roll, please, OK, consider that the studies with
IGF-1 doesn’t work! Why is it a secret? Well, everybody feels like a prize AIDS patients used five mg of IGF-1
ass after having spent so much money on it and finding out it works as well (made for real humans, not the “cell-
as Ovaltine for putting on muscle. The general bodybuilding public, though, still culture” IGF-1 many bodybuilders are
thinks it works. Rumor has it that top bodybuilders have been experimenting with getting) twice a day, with growth hor-
it for the last four years, and the rest of the world’s only just starting to catch up. mone, which is a total of ten mg a day
Make no mistake, IGF-1 has been around for a long time. In fact, I first had up- of IGF-1.1
close experience with it in 1989, and others may have started experimenting with Then, of course, you’ve got to con-
it back then, too. Back in 1989, one of the “lab-rat” bodybuilders I was keeping sider that IGF-1 should work better in a
track of used 30 mg (in one month) of IGF-1 that he received from a chemist “cocktail” with growth hormone (GH),2
friend of mine from Chiron, and absolutely nothing happened to his muscles. which is how the studies with AIDS
(Some of the IGF-1 at Chiron’s plant wasn’t “good enough,” so my chemist patients were done, using both GH and
friend pulled it off the assembly line and “threw it away.” This would have been IGF-1 together.1,3 (My chemist friend
about $300,000 worth of IGF-1 back in 1989 when the industrial cost of IGF-1 told me about the need for a ‘‘cocktail’’
was $10 a microgram!) in 1989, too.) Well, after 12 weeks, the
Look at the bottles of IGF-1 from some of the top chemical companies. There AIDS patients in the first study experi-
are 500 mcg in the 50-cc bottle. The bodybuilders who are using 2 cc’s or 20 mcg enced no net increase in lean tissue,
a day are using 1/50th as much as my lab-rat friend used, yet they think some- NONE, at 500 times the 20 mcg many
thing’s going to happen to their muscles that didn’t happen to his. bodybuilders are using—Z-E-R-O, zip.
(Note: 10 mg = .01 grams; 20 mcg =
.00002 grams. Count all the zeros.)
This is equivalent to me telling you
about some hypothetical super-pro
bodybuilder (remember we’re just
hypothesizing!) who uses 2,000 mg of
testosterone a week and then telling
you that you can use 4 mg a week and
still grow. (You can almost inhale four
milligrams of testosterone just by walk-
ing into Gold’s Gym, Venice!)
So this year, I’ve had 6 guys, average
weight about 250 lbs, come up to me at
the gym and ask the “What do you
think of IGF-1, and how should I use
it?” question. So I say, “I’m sorry you
spent two grand ’cause it won’t work,
but call me in two months, and give me
a report anyway.”
When they report back to me, they
always say, “I don’t know if it worked.
I guess it didn’t.” (Just think of all the
steak, rice, flax oil, whey, etc. you
could buy with $2,000.)
Some of the real hardcore users fig-
ure it out quickly (as everyone will
eventually), so of course, I predict that
the IGF-1 fad will die within the year,
as everyone gets the true picture.
Now don’t go blaming T.C. because
he was the first to report on the rampant
IGF-1 traffic that started last year. His
article was actually a “scoop” and very
on-target at the time. We were all curi-
ous about the commotion that was
going on, what with all kinds of body-
The Problem pounds, but it’s far too radical and com-
IGF-1
So what’s the problem here? Well, plicated for them to pursue for com-
doctors and bodybuilders, the problem mercial medical uses—and I think they
is that the IGF-1 binding protein know it.)
(IGFBP-3) that controls IGF-1’s activ- I know some of you are thinking,
ity and potency4,5 is very mysterious, “What about the studies that do show
and it’s very powerful. The best scien- IGF-1 doing something, like the one
tists at major-league scientific corpora- with the little old ladies?6 What about
tions don’t know how to work with that?” Well, if you check into it, you’ll
IGFBP’s, so they can’t make IGF-1 find a pretty consistent pattern of IGF-1
work the way they want it to. If they working for the first few weeks, and
builders talking about “friends who knew, they’d make their company a bil- then gains cease. This is what happened
were growing like crazy using this new, lion dollars and probably get a fat raise in the AIDS study1—some muscle gain
fantastic dream anabolic.” Even I put or a stock option worth a new house. (and some side effects) in the first, oh,
aside what I had learned years ago Anyway, Genentech’s research direc- maybe six weeks or so, but by the
when my Chiron friend was around, tor told me that they had “abandoned twelfth week, no net gain because the
thinking maybe bodybuilders finally all work on IGF-1 for body “down-regu-
had more information about how to anabolism” for the lates” the anabolic
make IGF-1 work. By the time the story
broke, though, I had put the pieces
time being. As I said,
they just don’t know
“...the body effects after a while
and stops the IGF-
together again and saw the same old
problem—the one that still hasn’t been
what to do to make
the IGFBP-3 work. (I
‘down-regulates’ 1 from working.
So what can we
fully solved by the big-league medical
scientists, the one that I’ll reveal in this
think there may be a
way to make it work
the anabolic do? I mean, if
IGF-1 is so power-
article. using multiple com- effects ful at affecting
anabolic activity,
after a isn’t there a way to
harness it? This is
while and the bodybuilders’
dream anabolic, you
stops the know, no andro-
genic side effects,
IGF-1 from super powerful, blah,
blah, blah... Isn’t
working.” it? So can’t we
make it work some-
how? (Note: I
should tell you that
IGF-1 may, in fact, not be the “Holy
Grail” of bodybuilding. The lead inves-
tigator of one of the AIDS studies told
me that IGF-1 in potentially effective
doses does have some very unaccept-
able “toxic” side effects. And coinci-
dentally, these side effects are basically
some of the same ones I outlined in my
article on growth hormone in the last
issue of MM2K [April 1996]. So the
GH side effects are probably produced
largely by the increased IGF-1 “over-
production” that high-dose GH can
cause.)
Well, there is a way to make IGF-1
work, and I’m going to tell you how,
even though you’re not going to like
everything I have to say. But this
method will save you money, and it
will make you grow; yes, better than a
great steroid cycle alone.
And if you’re an AIDS doctor and
you’ve got patients who are extremely
Covers Home
“...insulin
IGF-1 appears to
have a
tremendous
effect on
improving
stuff. I mean, the head of endocrinology
the anabolic
research at Serono didn’t even know ‘potency’ of
anything about using insulin with GH
when I talked to him, so I was totally IGF-1...”
blown away.
Well, Sean’s doctor gave him a pro-
gram that was basically idiot proof in
that it has virtually no potential for him
to overdose on insulin. Yet I know the
dose is sufficient to noticeably improve
the potential anabolic activity of the
GH, and if I were asked to create this
kind of stack, it’s exactly what I would
devise based on seeing people use it
over the years.
GH And Insulin-
Maximal IGF-1
Before I go any further, we should go
into my favorite part of this story, the
chemistry, which consists of the why-
or Anadrol, but Sean’s being prudent keep carrying the increased IGF-1 that
fors and the guzintas. First, the growth
about the potential effect on his health was stimulated by GH (and steroids)?
hormone/insulin stack works to maxi-
because of his AIDS. At any rate, the
mize protein metabolism all by itself,7
but it universally works better with ana- net effect is a heightened production of Insulin
bolic steroids, and the fact is, pro body- the body’s endogenous GH-induced
IGF-1 production when GH is used “Preserves” IGF-1
builders know that a carefully planned As it turns out, insulin appears to
moderately to highly androgenic steroid with certain steroids. (The heck with
“real” IGF-1, right?) have a tremendous effect on improving
cycle is potentiated by and will potenti- the anabolic “potency” of IGF-1, in that
ate GH/I, and they’ll see a super-pow- Now, can this GH/AS stimulated
IGF-1 actually do its work in the body? it inhibits the breakdown of proteins5,10
erful muscle-growing effect that is (anti-catabolic) and decreases the activ-
more than the “sum total of the parts.” Or is it going to be dumped by the
ity of certain proteolytic enzymes,
Anecdotal evidence over the years breakdown of IGFBP-3? IGFBP-3 con-
including the proteolytic enzymes that
supports the idea that GH may work trols IGF-1’s circulation in the body, so
destroy IGFBP-3.11 (IGFBP-3, you
better in a more “androgenic” environ- the IGF-1 “dies” quickly in the body remember, is needed to keep IGF-1 cir-
ment. I suspect that this may be in part and doesn’t produce a maximal anabolic culating and active in the body.)
because the androgens, like testos- effect. Note: IGFBP-3 functions to keep This is the important reason why the
terone (perhaps more than the anabolics the IGF-1 doing its work in the body,9 body turns down its own insulin (and
like Deca8), have a co-stimulatory so this is important. When IGFBP-3 GH) production when IGF-1 produc-
effect on IGF-1 production, which GH breaks down, it stops ‘‘carrying’’ IGF-1 tion reaches a certain point.12,13 (Note:
stimulates, although all anabolic steroids so that it can do its anabolic job. GH is involved in increasing the pro-
in general probably do this to some Without IGFBP-3 carrying it, IGF-1 duction of IGFBP-3.) This is the feed-
extent. Remember, the AS stack that basically disappears from circulation in back mechanism the body uses to shut
Sean’s been using isn’t heavily andro- minutes.5 Poof, no more IGF-1 induced down the activity and production of
genic (Deca is in what I call the anabolic activity. This same considera- IGFBP-3, which affects a “down-regu-
“medium” androgenic range, while tion applies to getting the most anabolic lation” of the life span and the growth-
Anavar is very low), yet it’s still work- activity from GH-induced IGF-1 pro- promoting activity of IGF-1. (It seems
ing very well for him. I do think it duction when GH is used with anabolic that IGF-1 must be a very powerful and
would work a lot better with heavier steroids or when GH is used all by itself. dangerous growth factor for the body to
androgens like testosterone cypionate Exactly how can one get IGFBP-3 to put such tight “controls” on it—seem-
Covers Home
ingly much tighter than any “controls” cometer and graphing the daily blood
placed on the activity of anabolic sugar movement to determine the pre-
References Cited:
steroids. Does this mean that steroids cise dosages and even “staggering” the 1 P. Lee, “HIV Infection: GH and IGF-1 Effects on
Wasting,” Baylor College, 1993.
are actually less “dangerous” and rela- administration of the GH and the
tively less potent?) insulin to attempt to synchronize their 2 S.R. Kupfer, et al, “Enhancement of the Anabolic
If we put in exogenous insulin, we pharmacokinetics. A few of the pro Effects of Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth
Factor-1 By Use of Both Agents Simultaneously,” J.
short-circuit the “down-regulation” of bodybuilders are trying to do it this Clin. Invest. 91.2 (1993) : 391-396.
IGFBP-3 and override the body’s feed- way, but this is way too much work 3 S.A. Lieberman, et al, “Anabolic Effects of
back mechanism, so we can keep the and can be very touchy and create lots Recombinant Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in
IGFBP-3 and the IGF-1 it carries of new problems. Sean’s doctor’s Cachectic Patients with Acquired Immunodeficiency
working in the body. Additionally, method is much better because it’s Syndrome,” JCEM 78.2 (1994) : 404-410.
insulin, which is necessary during cer- basically idiot proof. 4 Zapf, “Insulin-Like Growth Factors/Somatomedins:
tain steps in manufacturing IGF-1, and Structure, Secretion, Biological Actions, and
Physiological Role,” Hormone Res. 24 (1994): 121-
GH keep IGF-1 production happening No Problema 130.
in the body. Now, of course, the biggest problem 5 Froesch, et al, “Metabolic and Therapeutic Effects
With the life span of IGFBP-3 sup- with the GH/I/AS stack is the cost. of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1,” Hormone Res. 2
ported by the action of insulin so the (Unless you’re an AIDS patient with (1994) : 66-71.
IGFBP-3 keeps working, we see it insurance!) The cost of GH to potenti- 6 J.L. Thompson, et al, “The Effects of Recombinant
“saving” the IGF-1 for circulation for a ate this stack is $2,000 to $4,000 a Human Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 and Growth
longer period of time. This gives us month, depending on how well you’re Hormone on Body Composition in Elderly Women,”
more net IGF-1 activity. Voilà! JCEM 80.6 (1995) : 1845-1852.
connected. Only someone who has a
Maximal IGF-1 activity, indirectly huge bodybuilding contract (that nar- 7 R.F. Wolf, et al, “Growth Hormone and Insulin
enhanced by the “anti-proteolytic” rows it down to about five guys), owns
Combine to Improve Whole-Body and Skeletal-
Muscle Protein Kinetics,” Surgery 112.2 (1992) :
action of insulin on the proteolytic a profitable gym or business, o-r-r-r-r 284-292.
enzymes that destroy IGFBP-3. has a rich sugar daddy paying his bills 8 C.J. Hobbs, et al, “Testosterone Administration
Insulin itself is mildly anabolic in (Oops, did I let a big noisy cat out of Increases Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Levels in
safe doses, but put together with GH (a the bag, kind of like Dan Duchaine Normal Men,” JCEM 77.3 (1993) : 776-779.
mildly anabolic hormone) and strong does once in a while?!?!?!?) can afford 9 H.P. Guler, et al, “Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1
androgenic steroids, the GH/I/AS stack this. and 2 in Healthy Men: Estimations of Half-Lives and
can radically improve muscle growth. So you’ve gotten through the part of Production Rates,” Acta. Endocrinol. 121 (1989) :
Well, what impressed me even more 753-758.
the story I said you wouldn’t like: the
about Sean’s doctor’s advice was that most powerful way to get IGF-1 to
10 R.A. Gelfand, et al, “Effect of Physiologic
the amount of insulin selected for Sean work is by using GH, insulin, and ana-
Hyperinsulinemia on Skeletal Muscle Protein
Synthesis and Breakdown in Man,” J. Clin. Invest.
to use with GH was no more than 10 bolic steroids to cause your body to 80 (1987) : 1-6.
units of the regular releasing insulin radically improve its own IGF-1 activ- 11 A. Bereket, et al, “Insulin-Like Growth Factor
called Humulin R taken at the same ity. Binding Protein-3 Proteolysis in Children with
time as the GH injection (4 IU) always There is one other way to do this Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus: A Possible
with a carb meal, sometimes twice a that’s almost as good (but a lot less
Role for Insulin in the Regulation of IGFBP-3
Protease Activity,” JCEM 80.8 (1995): 2282-2288.
day, after working out and/or occasion- expensive), but I’ll wait and put that
ally before bedtime. (Although bed- 12 G.P. Ceda, et al, “The Growth Hormone (GH)
in another article sometime in the Releasing Hormone (GHRH)-GH-Somatomedin
time is not a good time if one is afraid future. Axis: Evidence of Rapid Inhibition of GHRH-
of gaining fat—even while using GH.) Elicited GH Release by Insulin-Like Growth Factors
At this rather low dosage of insulin 1 and 2,” Endocrinology 120 (1987) : 1658-1662.
Michael Mooney publishes a quar-
combined with GH, endocrinologists 13 P.D. Zenobi, et al, “Effects of Insulin-Like
terly newsletter called Medibolics
agree that there should be no signifi- Growth Factor-1 on Glucose Tolerance, Insulin
that focuses on medical and scien- Levels, and Insulin Secretion,” J. Clin. Invest. 89
cant danger that the insulin would cre- (1992) : 1908-1913.
ate a big drop in blood sugar, espe- tific research regarding therapeutic
cially when they consider that the GH applications of nutrients, anabolic 14 D.R. Clemmons, “Use of Growth Hormone and
itself is mildly hyperglycemic and will hormones, nontoxic pharmaceuti- Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 in Catabolism that is
Induced by Negative Energy Balance,” Hormone
raise blood sugar a bit to counter- cals, and exercise. Medibolics’ fea- Res. 40.1-3 (1993) : 62-67.
balance any insulin-induced hypo- tured and guest columnists include
glycemia,14 so there’s a happy medium Nelson Vergel, the man who inher- This article represents the opinions of Mr. Michael
that’s achieved when the two are used ited Dr. Michael Dullnig’s research Mooney and not of Muscle Media 2000 nor its editors.
No liability is assumed by Muscle Media 2000, Inc. nor
together. materials; Dr. Walter Jekot, the the authors for any information contained in this article.
(And while I know bodybuilders discoverer of anabolic steroid This text does not provide medical advice. Specific med-
ical advice should be obtained from a licensed health-
who use low-dose insulin for its therapy for AIDS; and Dr. Mauro care practitioner. Muscle Media 2000 does not advocate,
“vanadyl-like pump,” it’s only mildly DiPasquale, an expert on anabolic promote, nor encourage the use of anabolic steroids,
steroids and athletes. For a 1-year growth hormone, insulin, nor IGF-1. Use of these drugs
anabolic at low dosages, and higher can have dangerous side effects. The use of insulin by
dosages can cause lots of problems, so subscription, send $15.00 to Medi- non-diabetics can lead to coma or even death. Any refer-
it’s hardly worth it to use it alone.) bolics, P.O. Box #333, 836 N. La ences made directly about the effects of these substances
are for informational purposes only and are an expres-
There are other ways to be more pre- Cienega Blvd., West Hollywood, CA sion of the author’s opinions.
cise and aggressive by using a glu- 90069. Fax (310) 659-1597.
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The
PART III
By Charles Poliquin
T
his is it: a 12-week program that will make
your arms grow. It’s not uncommon for
individuals to gain anywhere from
three-fourths of an inch to one inch on their
biceps with this routine. If you’ve been
following the previous articles in this
series, then you know what makes this
routine work. For those who prefer to
skip the theories and jump right into the
reps and loads to put a permanent pump
on their arms, let me at least give you a
few applicable academic buzzwords to
dazzle your friends with as they watch
your biceps busting at the seams: repeated-
effort training, slow tempo, maximal-
weights method, and isometric stops.
What did you say? No Weider Principles?
Yes, I know. We are indebted to Joe for
many good things outside of bodybuilding
principles, such as sliced bread and stiff-
legged squats. All kidding aside, credit for
the theories in this program must go to
many of the world’s most astute athletic
scholars whom I’ve had the pleasure to work
with and learn from.
Now, hit the iron.
Pho
to:
Irv
in
J.
Ge
lb
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Program 1: Accumulation 1
The ten sets of ten method comes from German-speaking countries and is a
favorite of mine to induce long-term muscle mass and strength gains. It was
explained to me at length by Rolf Feser, coach of Olympic Weightlifting
Gold Medalist Rolf Milser. If you think this type of program is the
antithesis to Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty philosophy, then yes—you
have a firm grasp of the obvious. But the thing is, it works!
In this method, you select an intensity zone to recruit a specific
motor unit pool. By repeating the exercise for ten sets, the
selected motor unit pool gets, well...trashed...and adapts
by increasing in size. Expect some definite soreness—
in fact, when you first try this routine, forget about
combing your hair or brushing your teeth for at
least five days.
The starting weight for both of these exercises
Aaron Baker should be a weight you could lift for 20 reps.
What you’ll find is that the first five sets are
easy, and you’ll probably laugh at me. During sets six,
seven, and eight, you’ll curse me, and on sets nine and
ten, you’ll bless me and my descendants for the next
eight generations. Because of short-term neural
adaptations, these last two sets will actually be eas-
ier! Try it. Amaze your friends. If at the end of set
ten you feel you can do more, then you were def-
initely mucking around.
Program 2: Intensification 1
B1. Scott 45° Close-Grip EZ-Bar Curls 1 4-5 6-8 5/0/1 120
2 4-5 5-7 5/0/1 120
3 3-4 4-6 5/0/1 120
In this workout, you perform the first exercise (A1), rest two min-
utes, perform the second exercise (A2), then rest two more minutes.
Repeat this sequence for the recommended number of sets, then
perform the second and third exercises in the same manner. In this
way, you’ll get five minutes of rest between sets for each muscle
group, which is essential to derive the full benefits from training
with heavy weights. This is because the nervous system takes
four to five times longer to recover than the energy system.
Also, alternating muscle groups ensures balanced muscular
development and prevents excessive lactate buildup that
would force you to use lighter weights.
Program 3: Accumulation 2
This workout uses the “tri-set method” in that three exercises are per-
formed in sequence without rest until one set of each exercise is com-
pleted. I advocate at least three minutes rest between each tri-set to pre-
vent excessive lactate buildup that will force you to use lighter weights.
Also, it’s important to work the triceps first because the pump you’ll
experience from the biceps work will limit your range of motion during
the triceps series.
Program 4: Intensification 2
B1. Single-Arm,
Offset-Grip Dumbbell Curls 10 3-4 5-6 4/0/4 120
11 2-3 5-6 4/0/4 120
12 1-2 3-4 4/0/4 120
You must perform at least five warm-up sets of one to three reps before
doing the first double on each set/rep prescription. For example, if you
can double with 135 lbs on the EZ-bar reverse curl and 315 lbs on the
close-grip bench press, your warm-ups should look like this:
bs
Car
3
0
40%
%
P
ro
t
e
in
Barry
SEARS
t
a
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0%
3
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DR. Barry Sears is the current “Diet Messiah.” Usually, sports nutrition isn’t
the most newsworthy topic, but Dr. Sears has been getting around and
annoying virtually all of the nutritionists in the United States.
You’re probably familiar with the four-part interview with Dr. Sears
published in Muscle Media 2000. But Dr. Sears also has a best-selling
book (The Zone). Playboy (of all magazines) even devoted a whole page
to him. Various triathlete and bicycling magazines have discussed his
philosophies. And he’s a hot topic on the Internet, along with having a
private, cultish e-mail club. As much as Dr. Sears has revved up his
publicity machine, you should know that most athletes haven’t read his
book, and won’t, simply because most athletes are locked into a
high-carbohydrate, low-fat, and low-protein diet and won’t consider the
concept of higher-than-traditionally accepted dietary fat. But ponder
this: the current scientific embracement of a high-carbohydrate, low-fat,
low-protein diet is based on research that was published 25 years ago! In
the early ’70’s, the high-carb advocates were greeted with just as much
skepticism as Sears is encountering today.
25 Years
TOO SOON By Dan Duchaine
Barry
SEARS
called a “block.” A block is seven tled into the bloodstream. Although
grams of protein, nine grams of carbo- about 25% of the U.S. population has
hydrate, and about three grams of fat. very low insulin secretion in response
Each meal throughout the day is sup- to just about any carb (sugar or not),
Dr. Sears uses to fit his plan into the posed to consist of equal blocks. The many others will oversecrete insulin
available science. Sears’ diet plan is purpose of the equal block concept is to with higher glycemic foods. Most nutri-
damn close to my Isometric Diet, only both balance insulin with glucagon and tional researchers don’t really care (at
differing in the fine tuning of the food slow carb absorption with fats. this point) about hyperinsulinism, but
choices. And in all honesty, if an indi- its avoidance is Sears’ raison d’être. I
vidual snacks off the Isometric menu,
the end result is right at the 40-30-30
BYE-BYE RICE feel that the 50-glycemic-rating thresh-
old is, in a practical sense, overly
(carbs, protein, fat) calorie ratio that’s AND POTATOES restrictive. The recommended carb
the basis of the Zone. And we all tend to Sears isn’t at all choosy about protein choices rapidly become unappealing
snack on carbs, don’t we? quality. For him, any protein source over time. In my Isometric Diet, I tend
I should define what the Zone is. It’s will do. However, he is damn persnick- to agree with Dr. Ann de Wees Allen’s
an athletic term (but not in the body- ety with carb and fat choices. He uses finding that a glycemic point of up to 70
builder’s vocabulary). To quote Dr. the glycemic index to pick his carb rec- is acceptable. The bigger the variety of
Sears: ommendations. I believe he’s using the carb choices, the longer an individual
“In the Zone, the mind is relaxed yet newer glycemic index which scores will actually follow the eating plan.
alert and exquisitely focused. Mean- white bread at 100. The older one
while, the body is fluid, strong, and scores glucose at 100. In checking
Sears’ allowed/disallowed foods, he has
ANYTHING
apparently indefatigable. It’s almost
euphoric.” drawn the line at a glycemic score of BUT…FAT!
Poetic, yes, but does it mean any- 50. All carb sources above 50 (and For fats (and remember, Zonites get
thing? these are the tasty ones like breads, rice, 30% of their calories from it), there are
and potatoes) are to be avoided. Most of three categories: the good, the bad, and
you know that the glycemic index pre- the neutral. Fats are the primary source
THE PITCH dicts how rapidly a carb source is shut- of eicosanoids (both good and bad
Dr. Sears believes that by carefully ones). Generally, the Zone Diet uses
combining the macronutrients (pro- mostly monounsaturated fats (like
teins, fats, and carbohydrates) in the olive oil) as they have no influence on
correct ratios, you can influence the eicosanoid production. Saturated fats
body’s production of the major hor- “…THE PARTS OF are to be mostly avoided, as such fats
mones (insulin, glucagon, growth hor- have a negative impact on insulin
mone, and cortisol) and eicosanoids (of THE FISH THAT sensitivity. The polyunsaturated fats
which the prostaglandins are the most
recognizable). He divides his nutrition HOLD THE HIGHEST (PUFA’s) are in two opposing camps:
high linoleic acid sources and fish oils
regimen into two broad categories. He AMOUNTS OF OIL are the “good guys.” And the sources
has an overall macronutrient ratio of of linolenic acid (flax and soy oil and
40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and ARE THE
walnuts) and arachidonic acid (egg
30% fat. Once that ratio is established, LEAST APPEALING yolks and organ meats) are the “bad
he then dictates the exact type of carbo-
guys,” as they are precursors to bad eicos-
hydrate and fat choices to avoid. (THE DARK anoids. Minimizing bad eicosanoids
BELLY MEAT might be important for endurance ath-
IT ALL STARTS AND THE SKIN).” letes to improve oxygen transport. But
WITH PROTEIN for bodybuilders, the conundrum is that
the so-called bad arachidonic acid is
The cornerstone of the Zone is figur-
ing out an individual’s protein require- needed for male testosterone produc-
ment. This is done through a rough esti- tion.
mation of lean body mass with height/ If you follow all of Sears’ recommen-
waist measurements. There is also an dations, you enter the Zone, whereby
activity adjustment. Once the recom- your athletic performance will improve,
mended protein amount is established, and you’ll avoid most fatal diseases.
the rest (the carb and fat portions) are The implication is that by eating in the
calculated. Sears has created a new Zone, you won’t need most prescription
nutritional term, unique to his diet, drugs.
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IS BARRY SEARS
RIGHT?
“It also occurred to me that since
eicosanoids are involved in virtually “HOW MANY
everything the body does, controlling
them represents a new paradigm for INDIVIDUALS
health and illness. It seemed to make WOULD FOREGO
sense that many of our disease states—
heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and 25% OF THEIR
cancer, to name just a few—might be
the result of imbalances among the
FAVORITE FOODS
eicosanoid hormones.” FOR A
From the get-go, Sears makes two
leaps of faith. Eicosanoid balance influ-
HALF CENTURY
encing metabolism in a major way is an JUST TO CHEAT
interesting premise, but we have no
indication if such a premise is true. And DEATH
you’d find more disease specialists BY LESS
pooh-poohing his theory than agreeing
about it. The other great leap is the THAN A YEAR?”
assumption that macronutrient manipu-
lation remarkably influences eicosanoid
amount and quality. To give you an
example, over the last decade or so, the hyper-calorie situation, low-fat diets
prevailing opinion is that the consump- result in less bodyfat deposited. And for
tion of saturated fat correlates to heart active athletes, the Zone ratios do
disease. And current advice is to change. A discrepancy in Sears’ book is
scrupulously avoid such dietary fat. But that he actually has two separate eating
a recent study indicated that an overall recommendations: a low-calorie one for
lifetime abstinence of saturated fats the sedentary or occasionally active
only extended life expectancy by sev- individual and another one for active
eral months. Unfortunately, the bottom athletes. Let me illustrate by plugging in
line on Sears’ assumptions is that we my lean body mass and giving you some
have no statistical science to back his ratios and calories.
claims. And ultimately, acceptance of
Sears’ hypothesis is more faith than sci-
ence. He presents a long list of disal- NUMBERS BY
lowed foods to avoid over the next few THE BOOK
decades which I categorize as “nutri- By using the charts and guidelines in
tional gambling” on the premise of a the book, my lean body mass (LBM) is
longer and healthier life. How many about 150 pounds. I won’t even raise the
individuals would forego 25% of their issue that such calculations probably
favorite foods for a half century just to aren’t terribly precise, and I’d get a bet-
cheat death by less than a year? But ter reading with my skin-fold calipers
then again, Sears might be right, and his and a Skyndex speed rule. Giving
monastic eating might extend life span myself the benefit of the doubt, I’ll call
significantly. All I can tell you for cer- myself “active.” Thus, my protein
tain is that we just don’t know. requirements would be one gram per
But on many other issues, Dr. Sears is pound of LBM. So I need 150 grams of
completely correct. Dietary fat isn’t the protein a day. Remember, Sears uses
great nutritional Satan most nutritionists “blocks” (each block equals 7 grams of
proclaim. And the consumption of high protein, so my daily block requirement
amounts of carbohydrates does have would be 22 blocks). Sears’ eating plan
drawbacks, although his case against dictates that I eat equal blocks of carbs
such high-carb diets is over blown. In a (a carb block is nine grams) and fat (a
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Barry
SEARS
WHERE IS protein is metabolized to urea and
excreted from the kidneys, but this
SEARS WRONG? process isn’t damaging to the body
I believe Sears has written his book unless your kidneys are already dam-
fat block is three grams) with my protein for a mostly semi-sedentary readership, aged or you’re a diabetic or a post-
blocks. So my target calorie level would and many of the nutritional issues do menopausal woman. And his assertion
be 600 calories of protein, 800 calories have gray areas in application. But to that high protein causes ketosis isn’t
of carbs, and 600 calories of fat. Total: convince the (probably) skeptical (once again) really true. Ketones CAN
2,000 calories. This isn’t my mainte- reader, Sears has made many aspects be used as fuel in the body, and such
nance calorie level, but it’s only about black-and-white. He certainly does a ketosis doesn’t happen from high
10% less, so this eating plan isn’t at all diatribe on high-carb diets in general dietary protein but rather from blood-
bad for a diet with regards to calorie and high-glycemic carbs in particular. glucose levels of below 50 mg/dl,
level and macronutrient ratios. Besides, “Eating fat does not make you fat. It’s regardless of what the protein level is.
I could stand to lose some weight. your body’s response to excess carbohy-
However, if I were a very active ath-
lete who didn’t need to lose weight, this
drates in your diet that makes you fat.”
Ha! ANY overconsumption of any
HOLES
calorie level wouldn’t cut it. But buried macronutrient will make you fat. The IN THE ZONE
deep in the book is one phrase for such truth is, if you ate 1,000 calories extra As I mentioned before, the basic
scenarios: eat double fat blocks for each each day, the most fat deposited would Zone recommendations of 40% carbs,
single protein and carb block. When result from dietary fat, then carbs, and 30% protein, and 30% carbs are a good
this advice is followed, the ratios the least amount of fat would come setup for weight loss, even for body-
change. For active athletes, it becomes: from protein. His statement holds true builders. But I’d like to point out a few
46% fat, 30% carbs, and 24% protein. only at low and maintenance calorie minor recommendations in the Zone
This would add another 600 fat calories levels. Actually, using dietary fat as a food choices which might be better if
a day, bringing the daily total to 2,600. calorie source on a low-calorie diet not adhered to all that closely.
Here is where the flaws appear. For an results in greater bodyfat loss than Sears has pointed out (and rightly so)
active bodybuilder, 2,600 calories and using carb calories. that the quality of dietary fats you con-
46% fat borders on being undercarbed He’s substantially wrong about over- sume influences eicosanoid production.
for glycogen storage. And if an individ- consumption of protein. Yes, excess These at-site hormones influence many
ual needs even more calories, the metabolic processes, both beneficial
(unvoiced) solution is to eat more fat (and necessary) and detrimental. Virtu-
blocks. Such advice might work for an ally all nutritionists can agree that satu-
endurance athlete, but going over 50% rated fat is best avoided, if not for
dietary fat for a bodybuilder would put health reasons, for the negative impact
him into a “twilight” zone of having “…OVERCONSUMPTION such fats have on insulin sensitivity
very low blood sugar but having none and performance. And monounsatu-
of the benefits of the higher fat keto-
OF ANY
rated fats are the darlings of the dietary
genic diets (as BODYOPUS is). Many MACRONUTRIENT fats, as they’re neutral in terms of
other Zonites have become alarmed at eicosanoid production. The debate
these fat percentages, and in response, WILL MAKE begins in the area of PUFA’s. In The
the Zone Technical Support number (1- YOU FAT.” Zone, fish-oil fats are the champs, fol-
800-346-2703) now offers a free FAQ lowed by one of the essential fatty
(frequently asked questions) booklet, acids, linoleic. The other EFA, linolenic
informing us that the extra fat block acid, is to be avoided. Sears believes
isn’t a “real” fat block but a combina- the various transformations (GLA and
tion protein/fat block. Yes, it gets con- DGLA) from linoleic acid are the most
fusing. beneficial for good eicosanoid produc-
So overall, the Zone Diet is quite tion. Both EFA’s need one particular
good for weight loss, and the double fat enzyme for further fatty-acid metabo-
blocks work for endurance athletes. But lism—delta 6 desaturase. Sears feels
the Zone Diet isn’t very workable as a that too much linolenic acid (found in
maintenance diet for weightlifters. flax oil and walnuts) will compete with
They need more carbs (and perhaps the limited amount of delta 6 desat-
more protein, too, but that’s another urase, not allowing the linoleic acid to
debate). And in a weight-gain eating be activated into the beneficial series 1
plan, extra fat has a 97% conversion prostaglandins. He feels that by con-
rate to bodyfat. suming fish oils (EPA and DHA), the
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Linolenic acid and arachidonic acid The body needs linolenic acid and
are to be avoided. arachidonic acid to make testosterone.
Avoid rice, potatoes, and a long list of It’s not necessary to avoid these foods—
other foods. the evidence of a longer life span just isn’t
there.
A 150-lb man needs about 2,000 calories Two thousand calories a day is too low for
a day. a bodybuilder, unless he wants to lose
weight.
Eating fat does not make you fat. Overconsumption of any macronutrient will
make you fat.
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B L A S T
FROM THE PAST
By Bill Phillips
T
here are a multitude of roadblocks three days a week. Hardcore is all regulated by “feedback loops,” so they
which stand between bodybuilders about intensity, and intensity is an elu- stay the same. The body also attempts
and muscle growth. Among them sive quality. to maintain this homeostatic environ-
are a lack of proper nutrition, insuffi- ment by limiting the level of skeletal
cient recovery, and poor training inten-
sity. The latter is usually the last area
BASIC OVERVIEW
Why is intensity so important? To
muscle in the body. This homeostatic
nature is not easily overcome; thus,
an athlete considers to be his or her convincing the body that it needs more
shortcoming; however, a lack of inten- understand this principle, let’s examine muscle isn’t as easy as most training
sity is a major reason why weight- the theory behind muscle growth. theories would have you believe. The
training athletes experience little or no Training with weights is meant to put a fact is, giving the body the signal it
progress. This is not welcome news to great enough demand on muscles that needs to increase muscle growth isn’t
the average lifter, but it’s simply the they have no choice but to become pleasant. This type of weight training is
truth; nine out of ten people who take larger and stronger in order to survive. brutal and painful, but there’s no doubt
up weightlifting don’t have what it Effective weight training involves it’s rewarding.
takes to push their bodies to the point overloading and progressive resis-
where they will respond and adapt with
muscle growth. This is not to say that
tance. Overload indicates that unless
the muscle is forced to do more
than it’s used to, it won’t receive a
A TOUCH
any individual can’t benefit from a
weight-training program. In fact,
weight training is a fantastic form of
stimulus to grow. Progressive resis-
tance involves handling a greater level OF PhYSIOLOGY
For weight training to create muscle
exercise to improve overall health. of intensity each workout. This is often
accomplished by adding weight or growth, it must be fierce and earnest.
Training regularly with weights is also The intensity of the weight-training
a very enjoyable activity and can build additional repetitions to an exercise.
These are the two aspects that make up session must be so great that the skele-
self-esteem. I don’t want to discourage tal muscle tissue is damaged to the
anyone from partaking in this salutary training intensity.
point where actual microscopic tears
activity. Still, I think you need to
…Chances Are,
You Haven’t Discovered Your Potential
decide whether you are truly “hard- When an athlete trains with the same result. Skeletal muscle tissue is made
core” or just a “recreational” weight- weight and rep scheme over and over of microscopic, elongated, cylindrical
lifter. The majority of athletes who again, this doesn’t subject the muscles cells called muscle fibers or myofibers.
attempt to build a massive, muscular to any stress that they’re not accus- These fibers lie parallel to each other.
physique claim they’re hardcore body- tomed to. Even though the exercises In each myofiber, there are a number of
builders. Numerous other weightlifters may result in a great pump, these work- structures that control the function of
call themselves hardcore either because outs aren’t the type that induce growth that cell. Some of the more important
they work out five days a week or and should be regarded as maintenance structures are called myofibrils, which
because they perform the “advanced” training at best. Consider the body’s play a key role in contracting the cell.
workouts featured in the popular mus- homeostatic nature. The body very Myofibrils are made up of two kinds of
cle mags. The truth is, hardcore has much wants to stay the same. It main- even smaller structures called myofila-
nothing to do with how often you work tains a consistent temperature, meta- ments. There are thin myofilaments
out, how many sets you do, or if you bolic rate, and pH level. Virtually all (actin) and thick myofilaments (myo-
can do Paul Dillett’s back workout hormone and enzymatic activities are sin). It’s the interaction of actin and
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AZARDOUSS
HHAZARDOU
W T
W AIS
AIS
AIS T
What Causes
AABDOMINA
BDOMINALL
ISTENTION
DDISTENTIO N
in Bodybuilders?
By Keith Klein
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N u t r i - F a c t s
W
hen I first became a practicing
nutritionist at the Institute of
Specialized Medicine in Houston,
I came across an interesting problem
that continues to baffle nutritionists to
this very day. While working with over-
weight subjects, I noted that many of
them possess very large protruding
stomachs. In the beginning, I assumed
it was due to an excess accumulation of
fat around their midsections, and if
they dieted and exercised properly, it
would go away. As time passed, I
became increasingly frustrated because
no matter how much weight they lost
and regardless of how hard they exer-
cised, their midsections never seemed
to change. Keep in mind that some of
these clients had very skinny arms and
virtually no fat on their legs, yet their
midsections looked like gigantic bal-
loons inflated beneath their skin.
During that period, I used a tape
measure and the scale to monitor the
progress of these patients. That was
about 13 years ago, and as times
changed, I quit weighing clients, and
instead of using a tape measure, I
began using skin calipers. Then some-
thing strange happened. The skin-fold
“The strange thing was,
method I used required that the mea- when they dieted down to
surements be taken from three sites
around the abdominal section. I began make weight, the
to realize that many patients with large
protruding stomachs didn’t really have
protrusion remained, even
as much fat around their midsections as
it appeared. When I placed the calipers
though they had lost
on their stomachs and the sides of their significant
waists, the measurements equaled that
of much thinner people, yet their stom- amounts of bodyfat!”
achs hung so far out, it made them
appear more obese than they actually to push really hard just to make an fold measurements, one correlation
indention in their abdominal cavity. between the obese subjects and the
were.
The strange thing was, when they powerlifters began to emerge: they
Several years later, when I began dieted down to make weight, the pro- both ate large quantities of food late
working with bodybuilders and power- trusion remained, even though they at night. Usually this food was high in
lifters, this same problem surfaced. A had lost significant amounts of body- fat, and it was typically eaten right
powerlifter would come into my office, fat! It wasn’t just the powerlifters who before bedtime. The pattern seemed to
looking very muscular everywhere had this problem. I began to see more be the same in almost every instance.
except his midsection. I was shocked and more bodybuilders exhibiting this On one hand, the client either skipped
to see midsections of athletic people strange trait. meals and ingested a very large
resembling the midsections of the amount of food at dinner, or the per-
With each client I see, the first thing
obese. It wasn’t unusual to see a pow- son would ingest very large amounts of
I do is record their current eating pat-
erlifter sporting a six pack of abdomi- tern. This allows me to analyze their high-fat foods at every meal.
nals with a 38-40 inch waist. When I problem areas and gain an understand- What is commonly referred to as a
took caliper readings around their mid- ing of where they are with their current potbelly is actually abdominal disten-
sections, the numbers would be very knowledge of nutrition. The second tion. Abdominal distention is brought
low, yet their bellies stuck straight out. thing I do is record their bodyfat. After on by overloading your intestinal sys-
Furthermore, when I pushed on the several years of collecting data on each tem with large volumes of food, then
abdominal wall of these clients, their person’s eating habits and taking skin- sitting or lying down, thereby allowing
stomachs were as hard as rocks. I had
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N u t r i - F a c t s
the stomach muscles to relax. This pled with three or four high-calorie nal fat deposits increase, so does the
process, when repeated often, will lead meals during the day, can lead to internal space needed to house the
to a permanent protrusion that is abdominal distention. The degree to extra fat. Upon autopsy of obese sub-
almost impossible to reduce. (Notice I which a person experiences this disten- jects, researchers often note an abnor-
said “almost.” I’ll explain that later). tion depends on several factors other mally large amount of fat accumulation
Just think about the truck driver who than diet. around all organs. As the fat cells
drives for long hours, then finally pulls In the case of weightlifters, there located on the external portion of a
into a greasy spoon. He crams down a seems to be another element that plays person’s body become filled, the body
large fatty meal like chicken-fried a role in the girth of their midsections: will begin storing fat internally as well.
steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, heavy squatting. To make matters This explains why very obese people
butter-covered veggies, and follows it worse, heavy squatting following a appear to possess an abnormally large
all with a piece of apple pie. And then heavy meal seems to play an equal role amount of lean body mass when mea-
off he goes, into the wild blue yonder, in how big the potbelly becomes. sured for body composition. On the one
driving for several hours, while his Imagine a weightlifter eating a high- hand, they do have more muscle; after
belly relaxes on his lap. fat lunch or dinner, then a short while all, how else would they be able to
Many powerlifters or bodybuilders later, loading up the squat bar. The carry all the excess weight? Their bod-
have the same problem simply because internal force and pressure created by ies respond to the extra weight by
they habitually overeat in an attempt the heavy meal in the intestinal tract, increasing muscle mass. Just look at an
to gain weight. The diet histories of coupled with the force and pressure of obese person’s calves: they’re usually
bodybuilders, although different from the squat, shoves the abdominal cavity huge! While some of the increased lean
the truck drivers’, might look some- outward, causing the distention. It’s body mass is muscle, most of it’s inter-
thing like this: breakfast—eight egg not just squats that contribute to this nal fat, which is impossible to measure
whites, two whole eggs, toast, and oat- condition; any heavy exercise, pre- with calipers.
meal; mid-morning—a sandwich and a ceded by a large meal, can cause dis- Another aspect that contributes to
weight-gainer drink made with milk tention, particularly when the breath is the abdominal distention is steroids. A
and fruit; lunch (in many cases eaten held. frequent observation made by body-
out)—a chicken sandwich, milk, and The third component responsible for builders that have quit using the
loaded baked potato; mid-afternoon— abdominal distention is visceral fat. “juice” is how much smaller their
a repeat of the mid-morning meal; din- This type of fat accumulates around the waists became. A steroid user will gen-
ner—a steak (four nights out of organs, in this case, around the erally notice a drop in waist girth about
seven), baked potato, milk, and veg- intestines, which causes the internal six months after cessation of the
etables. space to increase in size. As the inter- steroids. Why? Steroids exert their
These heavy late-night meals, cou-
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N u t r i - F a c t s
CLEANING UP THE
HAZARDOUS WAIST
Pay attention to your posture. In
most cases, the potbelly is actually a
lazy stomach. The person has often
habitually allowed the stomach wall to
relax and never bothered to hold it in
and stand up right. Many people who
have protruding stomachs also have
weak lower back muscles and are sub-
ject to more back injuries and problems
There’s no question,
due to their poor posture. As the stom- a defined,
ach wall pulls forward, the lower back
gets pulled inward as well. To compen- "flat" midsection
sate, the person usually tends to roll
his or her shoulders forward. This poor looks best!
posture leads to more strain on the when squatting, doing leg presses, and nal cavity, you may always have a wider
lower back. doing bent-over rows. Focus on doing girth than everyone else. You may be
Adjusting your dietary habits can some abdominal work as well as hyper- able to lose some size in your midsec-
also help eliminate abdominal disten- extensions for your lower back. By tion, but don’t set unrealistic expecta-
tion. Try eating six evenly balanced, training your abdominals, your posture tions and think you’ll get a completely
smaller meals spread out through the should improve. And of course, pay flat stomach. Perhaps the most impor-
day. And keep each meal low in fat. closer attention to standing up straight. tant thing you can do is prevent it
Second, avoid eating large quantities of You will need to reestablish your mind/ from happening in the first place. In
food late at night. If your last meal abdominal connection. other words, avoid the mega-calorie
tends to be high in fat and calories, Of course, if you stop using steroids, approach to gaining weight, and follow
adjust it by lowering the fat and your waist will immediately begin the guidelines I’ve listed to prevent it
restricting the carbohydrates. decreasing in girth. But if you’re intent from occurring.
Don’t eat a meal and go directly to on using them, avoid using the heavy
the gym. Give your food time to digest; androgens. They tend to cause more *Note: If you would like to have Mr.
wait at least one hour before working bloating and side effects. Stick more to Keith Klein personally design a dietary
out. Pay attention to your breathing, the anabolic end of the spectrum. program for you, call 713-621-9339 for
and remember to breathe during each Once you have a distended abdomi- more information.
exercise. This is particularly important
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B o d y - T e c h
BODY-
TECH S c iRelevant
-Te c h
Research for Hey, What’s That an obscure brand imported from Thailand
Bodybuilders called Miramonte Tongel. I picked the
By Dr. José Antonio Fly Doing in My obscure brand just to see if there
Tuna? were any differences between an
American brand and an over-
Several months ago, I was scanning seas brand. I sent
through one of the many newsletters I
receive and came across a horrifying
B o d y - T e c h
M u s c l e Ad a pta t i o n s i n O l d e r Ma l e s
The structure and function of the elbow flexors (biceps brachii strength increases. Not surprisingly, there was a
and brachialis muscles) were examined in five elderly males (68 preferential hypertrophy of the fast-twitch or Type
years old) before and after 12 weeks of resistance training. Muscle II fibers. This confirms observations from other
volume increased 14%. Muscle cross-sectional area increased studies which have shown a preferential hypertro-
23%. Type I and II fiber areas increased phy of fast-twitch muscle fibers
24% and 37%, respectively. Peak torque Pax B eale in the biceps, triceps, and
increased 48%. Furthermore, the amount of quadriceps of strength/power
work a subject could perform via a 25-repe- athletes. But I thought the inter-
tition test at 240°/sec increased by 29% esting aspect of this study was
after training. The amount of nonmuscle the use of magnetic resonance
and connective tissue was 12% and did not imaging (MRI) in the determina-
change with training. These data indicate tion of muscle volume and max-
that in elderly males, 12 weeks of resistance imal muscle cross-sectional
training produces significant increases in area. Looking at muscle slices
muscle and muscle fiber cross-sectional area, from origin to insertion, they
muscle volume, and muscle strength. found that the greatest increase
(W.J. Roman, J. Fleckenstein, J. Stray- in muscle cross-sectional area
Gundersen, S.E. Alway, R. Peshock, and occurred at the point of maxi-
W.J. Gonyea, “Adaptations in the Elbow mal girth of the elbow flexors.
Flexors of Elderly Males After Heavy In other words, there were cer-
Resistance Training,” J. Appl. Physiol. 74.2 tain regions (such as near the
[1993] : 750-754.) myotendinous attachment)
Comments: which did not increase in size.
B o d y - T e c h
impressive results. Another study referred just plain difficult to change the
to by the authors describes giving CLA to eating habits of an entire popula-
rodents before one of two carcinogens was tion. Two, these recommendations
administered. Rats protected by CLA are vague: how much of what
reduced total mammary yield by 39% and foods constitute a proper cancer-
34% from that of controls.
fighting amount?
Based on these and other studies, the
Although the authors recom-
authors, through extrapolation, concluded
mend some sort of food modifica-
that a daily dosage of 3.5 grams of CLA
tion to ensure high levels of CLA,
(based on a 70-kg [154-lb] bodyweight)
it sure seems like taking a CLA
may afford human beings with a significant
pill is the way to go. Taking three
measure of cancer protection: “If the cancer
or four grams of CLA a day in pill
protective efficacy of CLA can be further
form would certainly be much
characterized and its mechanism of action
easier than eating five or six por-
delineated in the near future, there is a good
tions of fresh raw fruits and veg-
possibility that foods high in CLA, or pos-
etables a day, and the dosage
sibly CLA-enhanced foods, may play a role
would obviously be much more
in cancer chemoprevention.”
precise. Of course, you may ask
(C. Ip, M. Singh, D.J. Lisk, and J.A. yourself if the results of CLA on
Scimeca, “Potential of Food Modification rat mammary tumors are relevant
in Cancer Prevention,” Cancer Research to humans. (Other studies have
suppl. 54 [1994] : 1957s-1959s.) shown CLA to be effective in
Comments: fighting different types of cancer,
Although this paper isn’t new, too, including skin cancers and
all of the excitement about CLA in cancers of the forestomach.) It
general caused me to go back to stands to reason that CLA might
my files. The authors propose have the same effect on humans,
modifying the current food supply either through its extremely
to contain even higher amounts of treatment produced significant gains in
potent antioxidant properties or
CLA in order to possibly reduce heart, kidney, spleen, thymus, and small
by some other yet-to-be discov-
cancer rates in the population. intestine weight. In contrast, GH had no
ered mechanism.
Although several governmental effect on the weights of these tissues; how-
Given the high rate of cancer in ever, it did increase gastrocnemius (calf )
and private health institutions our population, CLA, if indeed as
have advocated an increased muscle weight. IGF-1 had no effect on gas-
effective as it seems to be, could trocnemius muscle weight. Treatment with
consumption of fruits, grains, and be a godsend. And, if you’re a
vegetables, along with a decreased IGF-1 or GH alone produced similar
bodybuilder, it could protect you reductions in fat, while combining both
consumption of animal fats, these from the inordinately large amounts
strategies are not without their had an additive effect on fat loss. IGF-1
of free radicals generated by plus GH produced the highest levels of
inherent problems. For one, it’s intense workouts and increased total and free serum IGF-1. Serum GH lev-
dietary requirements. Plus, if the els decreased after IGF-1 and/or GH treat-
other studies are right, it might ment. Furthermore, IGF-1 with GH
even make you grow! reversed the GH-induced increase in serum
—J.A. insulin.
(H.C. Lo, P.S. Hinton, C.A. Peterson,
I G F-1: M o r e A n a bo l i c and D.M. Ney, “Simultaneous Treatment
of IGF-1 and GH Additively Increases
i n Vi s c e ra vs. Anabolism in Parenterally Fed Rats,” Am. J.
M u s c l e? Physiol. 269 [1995] [Endocrinol. Metab. 32]
: E368-E376.)
This study compared the effects of IGF-
1 (800 ug/day, co-infused with total par- Comments:
enteral nutrition [TPN] ), growth hormone Simultaneous treatment with
(GH) (800 ug/day, injected subcutaneously IGF-1 and GH is more anabolic
2 times per day plus TPN), or simultaneous than treatment with either hor-
treatment of both GH and IGF-1 (800 + mone alone. In this study, positive
800 ug/day plus TPN) in rats subjected to effects were seen in measures of
surgical stress. The length of post-surgical weight gain, nitrogen balance,
treatment was six days. Post-surgery, the and body composition.
combination of GH and IGF-1 produced Surprisingly, GH produced a
significantly greater bodyweight increases hypertrophic response in the
than either IGF-1 or GH alone. IGF-1 gastrocnemius while IGF-1 had no
Covers Home
B o d y - T e c h
B o d y - T e c h
on the Russian stuff. Plus, the Russian perspective), you usually have to make 17- S u ppl e m e n t s a n d
stuff is always missing a package insert. α-methyltestosterone first. So why not A n a bo l i c H o r m o n e s
You’ll get big and bloated on the Polish just stop at that point and package it as is?
The effects of dietary supplements after
stuff. On the Russian stuff, you’ll see mod- Well, that’s exactly what’s being done.
weight-training exercise were examined in
est size gains, water retention, plus the Companies like to have stuff made in India
nine experienced weightlifters. The subjects
bitchy attitude associated with methyl- as the laws there are fairly lax, and labor
received either water or an isocaloric carbo-
testosterones. is woefully cheap and in ready supply.
hydrate (1.5 grams per kilogram of body-
One might inquire as to why somebody India isn’t known as the sanitary capi- weight), protein (1.38 g/kg), or carbohy-
would go to the trouble of putting in an tal of the world either. This isn’t a prob- drate and protein (1.06 g/kg carbs and 0.41
ester of testosterone instead of nan- lem with an oral steroid, but it may be a g/kg protein) supplement immediately after
drolone decanoate or 17-α-methyltestos- potential problem with an injectable. exercise and again 2 hours later. The exer-
terone instead of methandrostenolone? Look at it this way, if the country where cise protocol consisted of the leg press, leg
Why not just put the real thing in or put something is made doesn’t even sell it in extension, leg curl, bench press, dumbbell
nothing of any value in these “drugs”? their own pharmacies, that ought to be a flyes, dumbbell rows, lat pulldowns, and
Why is this all done in India? The answer hint and a half, and Metanabol and military press (2 sets of 8-10 reps [at about
is one of pure economics. Nerobolil Depot are not available in 75% of 1RM] with a 90-second rest inter-
If I “make” steroids and don’t put any- Indian pharmacies. Perestroika, com- val). Exercise produced a rise in blood lac-
thing real in them, you won’t be a repeat rade! Welcome to America. tate, glucose, testosterone, and growth hor-
customer. If I put something in my stuff, FYI: At the prices the dealers are getting mone (GH). The carbohydrate and carbo-
even if it’s not what I’m putting on the for these Russian goodies, I’d avoid them hydrate/protein supplements resulted in
label, you’ll probably see some effect, and even if they were real. One hundred higher insulin concentrations than protein
you’ll buy again. Testosterone esters are Metanabol is maybe a 10-day supply, and alone and control. The response of GH was
MUCH cheaper and easier to make than 150 mg of nandrolone won’t last a male greatest after the carbohydrate/protein
nandrolone decanoate. In order to make bodybuilder 3 days. treatment. Supplements had no effect on
methandrostenolone (from the chemist’s —B.K. ☞
A l c o h o l a n d P o s t- M e a l Fa t Sto ra g e
Five healthy male volunteers were studied Bill Comments:
(average age, 35; average weight, 157 lbs). P hi l l i ps Alcohol contains more kcals per
Using whole-body indirect calorimetry, these gram than either carbohydrate or
investigators determined energy expenditure protein foods but not as many as fat
and macronutrient balance after meals were (fat contains nine, alcohol contains
consumed (with and without alcohol). Each seven, and carbs and protein contain
subject was studied on three different occa- four). Scientists have speculated as
sions with each subject serving as his own to the possible benefits of alcohol
control. The three meal treatments, adminis- consumption concerning heart dis-
tered in random order, were control (C), alco- ease. However, commonsense would
hol substitution (AS), and alcohol addition tell you that too much of anything is
(AD). The fat to carbohydrate to protein to not good. But does alcohol consump-
ethanol composition of the test meals tion invariably lead to increased fat
expressed as a percentage of total energy were deposition? Well, the answer to that
as follows: Meal C—40:46:14:0; Meal AS— is a qualified no. Apparently, alcohol
40:23:14:23; and Meal AD—34:36:12:18. calories are only fattening when
Meal AS had 50% of the carbohydrate energy consumed in excess of daily caloric
replaced with alcohol, while both meal AS requirements. (Wow, what a revela-
and AD had the same absolute amount of tion.) However, the manner in which
alcohol. These subjects were examined up to alcohol may make you fatter is due to
20.5 hours post meal. AD and AS both caused its suppression of carbohydrate and
fat retention. They found that alcohol has a thermogenic effect fat oxidation. Obviously, if these macronutrients are
similar to carbohydrate. However, alcohol was found to suppress not oxidized, they will be stored as glycogen (for
the oxidation of carbohydrates and fat. Apparently, alcohol dom- excess carbs) or as fat (for excess carbs and fat).
inates oxidative pathways because there is no mechanism to store Interestingly, the thermogenic effect of alcohol is
excess alcohol and also because of the need for oxidative detoxifi- similar to carbohydrates. The bottom line is don’t
cation. These scientists concluded that alcohol has a fat-sparing feel too guilty about drinkin’ a Bud, but at the same
effect similar to carbohydrate. Alcohol appears to cause weight time, don’t down a six-pack each night and expect
gain only when consumed in excess of normal energy needs. to gain quality muscle mass. Also, keep in mind that
(B.J. Sonko, et al, “Effect of Alcohol on Postmeal Fat Storage,” alcoholic beverages tend to be nutrient sparse.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 59 [1994] : 619-625.) Remember, everything in moderation.
—J.A.
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B o d y - T e c h
B o d y - T e c h
These data suggest that in the fed state, the net result is that a large protein is
combination of IGF-1 and GH is not more COLOSTRUM hydrolyzed into small oligopeptides (usu-
anabolic than using either compound IS NO ally no larger than six amino acids long),
alone. di- and tripeptides, and free-form amino
(N. Mauras, “Combined Recombinant
ORAL IGF-1 acids. IGF-1, insulin, HGH, and most of the
Recently, I got into a “heated debate” other bioactive drug-like proteins are
Human Growth Hormone and Recombinant
with somebody (somebody who should several hundred peptides long. There is
Human Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1:
know better) regarding IGF-1 and no way they can survive in the gut of an
Lack of Synergy on Whole Body Protein
colostrum. Let me update you on this. adult. The key word here is “adult.” As
Anabolism in Normally Fed Subjects,” J.
Colostrum contains small amounts of previously stated, newborns don’t have a
Clin. Endo. Metabol. 80.9 [1995] : 2633-
IGF-1. And as many of you know, you can fully developed gastrointestinal tract.
2637.)
buy colostrum over the counter in your They’re lacking these digestive enzymes
Comments: local health-food store. So the train of
Combining GH and IGF-1 has or have very limited quantities of them
thought is if you buy the colostrum and until they’re a few months old. So, yes,
previously been shown to amelio- chug down gallons of it, you’ll infuse your
rate the catabolic state seen in the newborn could theoretically absorb
body with IGF-1 and get huge. IGF-1, HGH, insulin, and whatever else if
calorically deprived humans. This, Ahhh…sorry, incorrect thought process.
of course, may be one of the orally ingested. How many newborn
The idea sounds great on paper, but it babies do you see pumping iron at the
potential therapeutic roles of doesn’t work. Your digestive tract will
these hormones. However, ath- gym?
destroy any trace of IGF-1 you ingest, The good “doctor,” after hearing my
letes (especially bodybuilders) are denaturing and cleaving it into fractured
a different story. They’re hardly explanation, still wasn’t satisfied. “How
peptides and free-form amino acids. The come I can take Cytomel orally? When I
calorically deprived and are same is true for insulin and HGH. Any
oftentimes overfed. This study take Cytomel, it works just fine…” Hey,
peptide (protein) based drug that you knucklehead?!? Cytomel (liothyronine) is
suggests that combining both hor- ingest orally will be digested and ren-
mones does not have a synergis- NOT a protein!!! Bottom line here: don’t
dered inert by your digestive system be lulled into a pseudo-anabolic trance
tic effect on whole-body protein 99.9% of the time. with promises of great size gains from
Well, some moron with colostrum. $ave your greenbacks for
a Ph.D. (in sociology, no something that really works, like HMB™,
less) had the audacity to vanadyl sulfate, CLA, creatine monohy-
tell me I’m wrong. Hey, I drate, or a high-quality whey protein.
work for Dan Duchaine. —B.K.
I’m never wrong. I can’t
afford to be. There are too
many other people who Now What
would kill for my position.
Well, this “doctor” (who
Am I
will remain nameless) Going to Eat?
enlightened me to the fact Bodybuilders eat tons of chicken
that newborn babies who every year. Just for grins, I sat down and
breast-feed end up absorb- calculated how much chicken I eat per
ing the antibodies and year. Considering that I eat 8 ounces of
IGF-1 in mothers’ milk. chicken breast at least twice a day, 365
Antibodies are really big days a year, I end up eating 365 pounds
proteins, and yes, the of chicken a year! Since the average
neonates absorb the anti- chicken weighs about 5 pounds, I’m eat-
anabolism. Keep in mind that this
bodies and possibly the IGF-1 intact after ing about 73 chickens a year! I’ve been
study was very short. Would the
eating such. So this “doctor” reasons, if doing that for the last 15 years. Good
same be true if these hormones
neonates can absorb all this stuff, so can God, I’ve eaten almost 1,100 chickens.
were administered for weeks or
the average bodybuilder. This is not Yikes!
months? Also, the authors point
true!!! Babies are not just “little adults.” Unfortunately, a report from the
out that prolonged elevations of
The physiology of the neonate is pro- National Cancer Institute mentioned
circulating IGF-1 concentrations
foundly different from that of an adult. The that overcooked chicken is a possible
seen in acromegalic conditions
neonate does not have a fully developed human carcinogen. They state that
may have a potentially detrimen-
gastrointestinal system. In adults, large when cooking chicken, be careful not to
tal effect on cartilage and soft tis-
peptides are subject to degradation in the allow the meat to get too charred or
sue leading to decreased joint
stomach by the enzyme pepsin. When the overbrowned. This results in the forma-
spaces and osteoarthritis. Bottom
peptides pass from the stomach into the tion of a carcinogen called PhIP. The
line? We need more studies to
duodenum, they get nailed by the pancre- study focused on the amount of PhIP
determine what this stuff does. So
atic enzymes trypsin and chylotrypsin as found in chicken breasts that were pan
take it at your own risk!
well as intestinal carboxypeptidase. The fried, broiled in an oven, stewed, and
—J.A.
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B o d y - T e c h
E l e c t r i c a l St i m u l a t i o n a n d M u s c l e H yp e r t r o ph y
Sedentary, untrained subjects were trained twice per week for that the way muscle fibers are recruited differs
nine weeks using either electrical stimulation or voluntary effort. between voluntary contractions and electrically
Voluntary training involved three to five sets of ten full-range evoked contractions. Voluntary muscle contrac-
isovelocity contractions with three-minute rest tions involve an
intervals between sets. All training and testing asynchronous
was performed on a Kin-Com isovelocity load- activation of mus-
ing dynamometer. Electrical stimulation “train- cle fibers. Also,
ing” consisted of a 1-second train of 500 micro- muscle fibers are
sinusoidal pulses delivered at 50 Hz. The cur- recruited first from
rent was adjusted to evoke around 70% of max- the smallest and
imal voluntary isometric torque. Current was then from the
increased over the course of the training, so by largest motor units
the end of training, stimulation evoked around (size principle). On
80% of the pre-training maximal voluntary iso- the other hand,
metric torque. In both groups, only the left electrical stimula-
quadriceps femoris was trained, while the right tion invokes asyn-
served as the contralateral control. The electri- chronous firing of
cal-stimulation group increased quadriceps both small and
femoris muscle cross-sectional area (as deter- large motor units.
mined via magnetic resonance imaging) by 10%, while the group Further, as with voluntary exercise, electrical stim-
that engaged in voluntary exercise increased cross-sectional area ulation does not uniformly activate all regions of a
4%; training torque increased 25% and 56% in the voluntary muscle. You may actually get regional-specific
exercise and electrical stimulation group, respectively. There were adaptations (i.e., some parts of the muscle grow
no changes in any of the measured parameters for the untrained while others don’t). This study should not be inter-
contralateral thigh. These data indicate that in untrained subjects, preted to apply to well-trained bodybuilders, pow-
voluntary effort may limit the hypertrophic response of skeletal erlifters, or weightlifters. These athletes already
muscle during the initial phases of a resistance-training program. have major neural adaptations to resistance exer-
(C.L. Ruther, C.L. Golden, R.T. Harris, and G.A. Dudley, cise. It would be interesting, though, if you could
“Hypertrophy, Resistance Training, and the Nature of Skeletal cause electrical stimulation-induced hypertrophy
Muscle Activation,” J. Strength Cond. Res. 9.3 [1995] : 155-159.) of those muscles which are typically resistant to
growth (e.g., the calves for some individuals) or
Comments: stimulate regions of a muscle which may not
It’s apparent that untrained subjects may not be respond as well as other regions (e.g., the biceps
working out as hard as they possibly could. It’s also brachii muscle near its tendon insertion may not
interesting that electrical stimulation produced a grow as easily as the area around the mid-belly).
ten percent increase in muscle cross-sectional —J.A.
area in nine weeks! This has been supported by
earlier investigations. However, it should be noted
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MM2K Champions
You don’t have to have a “pro card” to be a bodybuilding champion. The majority of those who read
Muscle Media 2000 will never compete in the Mr. Olympia, the national bodybuilding championships,
nor a state or local bodybuilding contest. But, that doesn’t mean they aren’t champions in their own
right!
At Muscle Media 2000, we believe in giving credit where credit is due—we know there are thousands
of people who read Muscle Media 2000 who have their own “success stories.” Some of them compete,
and some of them don’t. But they all share one thing in common—they have a passion for building the
best body they possibly can—they have discipline, drive, and determination! In this new column called
“MM2K Champions,” we’ll acknowledge the efforts of some bodybuilders who are working hard to be
their best and who rely on Muscle Media 2000 to help them with their efforts!
Kurk
Malwin
see him), and when you combine chronic stress with
poor exercise and eating habits, things like your
waistline head south.
When Kurk picked up a copy of Muscle Media 2000,
things just clicked. “You use a lot of photos of guys
“Muscle
Media 2000
tells it
with achievable looks—a lot of the guys look ‘nor-
mal,’ but they still look great. I like the fact that it
gives alternatives to people who want to go the
like
drug-free route. I like the fact that MM2K caters to
ordinary people.”
Weightlifting has given Kurk a whole new lease, or
it
should we say, cable subscription, on life. Thanks to
bodybuilding, he’s now in the greatest shape of his is.”
life! “It’s a great stress reliever, and I just feel phys-
ically better.”
Steven Scutti of Coconut Creek, Florida, tried other sports, but they just Bill Davey, of Fort
didn’t give him the same satisfaction bodybuilding did. Somehow, compet- Myers, Florida, has a
ing against others in team sports just wasn’t the same; too much of your healthy respect for
success depends on others. In bodybuilding, however, he was able to push those bodybuilders who
as hard as he wanted to, and if he didn’t succeed, it was nobody’s fault but stay natural. “It’s a
his own. “You’re always competing against yourself, trying to get better and great sport, and it’s
better. In bodybuilding, supposed to be a
you have to work hard “Overall, it’s just a healthy sport, but the
bodybuilders who abuse